Sunday night, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a one-sentence order that killed $1.8 billion: "The Attorney General's May 18, 2026 Order establishing the Anti-Weaponization Fund is rescinded."
That's the price of admission to the permanent job.
The anti-weaponization fund — originally designed to compensate people who claimed they were victims of politically motivated federal prosecutions — had become the single obstacle between Blanche and Senate confirmation as Attorney General. Two Republican senators, John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had made it clear they would vote no if the fund stayed. With a narrow Senate majority, two defections meant the nomination was dead.
So Blanche cut the deal. As he posted on X late Sunday: "My team and I have met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed concerns." The Senate Judiciary Committee is now scheduled to vote on his nomination Tuesday.
The fund traced back to President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS and included provisions for tax audit immunity for Trump family members. The revised deal narrows that immunity so it applies "only retroactively" to claims that were open at the time of the settlement — meaning it does not shield the president from examination of future tax filings. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, stated he would exclude January 6 rioters from any future legislation that might codify a version of the fund.
Cornyn and Tillis both have complicated histories with Trump. Cornyn lost his Senate seat to Ken Paxton in a Trump-endorsed primary challenge. Tillis announced he would not seek re-election. Neither senator sits on the Judiciary Committee, which means the real test comes on the full Senate floor — but the committee vote Tuesday is the gate that has to open first.
The political math here is straightforward. The anti-weaponization fund was a policy goal. Getting a confirmed Attorney General is a structural necessity. You can revisit policy. You can't run the Department of Justice with an "acting" in front of the title forever — not when there's a mandate to execute.
Trump himself made it clear Saturday that he still wanted the fund and would "push hard" to revive it through legislation. That's the play: let Blanche get confirmed clean, then build the fund through Congress where it has proper authorization and can't be rescinded by the next administration with a single signature.
The left is already framing this as Trump backing down. That reading requires you to ignore that the man who rescinded the fund is about to become the most powerful law enforcement official in the country — with a confirmation vote, not an asterisk.
An acting AG can be replaced at any time. A confirmed AG has the full authority of the office, Senate backing on the record, and the political capital that comes with surviving a confirmation fight. Blanche traded a fund that could be challenged in court for a title that can't be.
The $1.8 billion was a number on paper. The Attorney General of the United States is a set of keys.
