{"id":1787,"date":"2026-06-02T19:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1787"},"modified":"2026-06-02T19:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T19:05:00","slug":"blanche-is-set-to-return-to-capitol-hill-as-trump-reconsiders-plans-for-his-1-8-billion-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1787","title":{"rendered":"Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill as Trump reconsiders plans for his $1.8 billion fund"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>WASHINGTON<\/strong> | Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the Trump administration signaled it was pausing contentious plans to move forward with a nearly $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.<\/p>\n<p>The hearing before the House Appropriations Committee was scheduled for discussion of the Justice Department\u2019s budget, but lawmakers will almost certainly focus their questioning on the creation of a fund that has provoked outrage over the mere possibility that violent pro-Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could be eligible for payouts.<\/p>\n<p>The Republican president is now reconsidering whether to move forward with the fund established to resolve his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, according to a person familiar with the matter, in the face of Republican backlash and legal setbacks. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss the president\u2019s thinking on Monday. The Justice Department also said Monday it would comply with a Virginia court temporarily blocking the administration\u2019s \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund,\u201d effectively agreeing to pause the plan for at least two weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Another judge in Florida raised the prospect of reopening the IRS lawsuit because of \u201cgrievous allegations\u201d of improper dealing made against the administration by settlement critics.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>The Trump administration has defended the fund as an appropriate measure to make up for what officials insist was a weaponized Justice Department during President Joe Biden\u2019s Democratic administration, a claim the Biden administration strongly denied. Though some Trump supporters, including participants in the Capitol riot, have celebrated the announcement, the reaction among Republicans in Congress has been decidedly more hostile, forcing Blanche to try to assuage a GOP constituency that generally operates in close alignment with the administration.<\/p>\n<p>The furor has especially complicated matters in the Senate, where Republicans defiantly left town 10 days ago without passing legislation to fund Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans who returned to Washington on Monday said they won\u2019t have the votes to pass the Homeland Security spending bill until the White House works with them to place parameters on the fund. Many have pushed the administration to impose limits or scrap the idea altogether.<\/p>\n<p>At a Senate budget hearing last month, Blanche refused to rule out the possibility that those who carried out violence on Jan. 6 could be eligible for payouts and has repeatedly said in interviews that anyone who feels persecuted by the criminal justice system is free to apply. Payouts will be decided by a five-member commission appointed by Blanche.<\/p>\n<p>But he has apparently struck a more conciliatory tone in private when confronted by Republican anger.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche encountered a groundswell of opposition last month at a tense private meeting with GOP senators, with more than half raising concerns, including by shouting at the Justice Department\u2019s top official, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in a recent episode of his podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were fireworks at an epic level \u2014 and I\u2019ve got to say, it\u2019s one of the roughest meetings I\u2019ve seen in my entire time in the Senate,\u201d Cruz said.<\/p>\n<p>Behind closed doors, Blanche was \u201cadamant\u201d that no one who assaulted police at the Capitol would receive compensation, according to Cruz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said not just \u2018no,\u2019 but \u2018hell no,&#8217;\u201d the senator recalled.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1781\">Democrats redrew California\u2019s map to counter Trump. The primary tests whether it pays off for them<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1783\">Rubio is optimistic on eventual Iran nuclear talks despite congressional skepticism<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1785\">EU strikes migration deal for more deportations and detention centers abroad<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON | Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the Trump administration signaled it was pausing contentious plans to move forward with a nearly $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. The hearing before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1101,1093,1094,1133,1134,67,1103,63,1144],"tags":[2810,1542,252,2150,2811,1555],"class_list":["post-1787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-0-no-apple-publish","category-0recent-headlines","category-0trending","category-1gridnation","category-1gridnationandstate","category-nation","category-uncategorized","category-world","category-z-ntl-galley","tag-house-appropriations-committee","tag-internal-revenue-service","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-president-joe-biden","tag-ted-cruz","tag-todd-blanche"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill as Trump reconsiders plans for his $1.8 billion fund - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=1787\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill as Trump reconsiders plans for his $1.8 billion fund - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WASHINGTON | Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is set to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday after the Trump administration signaled it was pausing contentious plans to move forward with a nearly $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. 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