Blanche doesn't rule out considering payments for violent Jan. 6 rioters
as he defends $1.8B fund
[May 20, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday
wouldn't rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence
during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will be considered for
payouts from a new $1.776 billion fund to pay individuals who believe
they were targeted politically.
Pressed during a Congressional hearing over whether those who assaulted
police officers would be eligible for compensation from the
“Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Blanche responded that all people can apply
if “they believe they were a victim of weaponization.” The acting
attorney general also refused to say whether he would direct those
responsible for deciding who receives payments — a commission whose
members he is tasked with appointing — to restrict funds to those
convicted of violence.
“What I will commit to is making sure that the commissioners are
effectively doing their jobs, and that includes setting guidelines as
you’re describing,” Blanche told Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat.
The decisions on payouts will be made a five-member commission appointed
by the attorney general.
Appearing before Congress for the first time since taking the reins of
the Justice Department last month, Blanche was peppered with questions
about the fund announced on Monday to compensate those who believe they
were mistreated by prior administrations' Justice Department. Blanche
said the fund was “unusual” but not unprecedented, adding that those who
benefit will not be limited to Republicans or to people who were
investigated or prosecuted by the Biden administration. At one point,
Blanche said President Joe Biden's son, Hunter — who faced gun and tax
prosecutions under his father's administration — could also apply.
Blanche defends $1.8 billion fund
Tuesday’s hearing was meant to address the Trump administration’s budget
request for the Justice Department but quickly delved into other
controversies that have escalated concerns about the erosion of the law
enforcement agency’s tradition of independence from the White House.
Blanche defended the creation of the fund without any acknowledgment
that the Trump administration has pursued investigations of Trump's
political opponents, sparking criticism that the department is being
weaponized in precisely the same way they allege it was under Biden's
administration to prosecute Trump.
In the weeks since assuming control of the Justice Department after Pam
Bondi's firing, Blanche has moved aggressively to advance the
president’s priorities — pushing forward cases against Trump’s political
foes, cracking down on leaks to media outlets and establishing the new
fund to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue
Service over the leak of his tax returns.
Democrats described it as an illegal abuse of power designed to line the
pockets of Trump supporters with taxpayer dollars. Sen. Chris Van Hollen,
the top Democrat on the Senate appropriations subcommittee holding the
hearing, blasted the move as a “pure theft of public funds.”
“Rewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene,” the Maryland
Democrat said. “Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt,
self-dealing scheme.”
The fund is in keeping with Trump’s long-running claims that the Justice
Department during the Biden administration was weaponized against him,
even though then-President Biden himself was investigated during that
time and his son was prosecuted. Merrick Garland, who served as attorney
general during the Biden administration, has repeatedly denied
allegations of politicization and has said his decisions followed facts,
the evidence and the law.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche attends the 45th Annual
National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol,
Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump administration has been rewriting the history of Jan. 6
The mere possibility that violent rioters at the Capitol could be
considered for payouts is consistent with a Trump administration
pattern of rewriting the dark history of Jan. 6, a trend that began
when the president pardoned and commuted the prison sentences of the
participants in the melee and that continued with the Justice
Department firing some prosecutors who put them behind bars.
Under questioning from Merkley, Blanche said that he “will
definitely encourage the commission” responsible for deciding on the
payouts to “take everything into account.” But when asked whether he
believes those convicted of violence should be entitled to
compensation, Blanche said: “My feelings don't matter.”
When Merkley suggested that Trump was using the Justice Department
to target his political enemies, Blanche replied that this was
precisely the sort of “disgusting” behavior of the Biden
administration that the fund was meant to address.
“That is completely inappropriate and wrong," Merkley said. “There
is no comparison to the absolute fair minded pursuit of justice
under the previous administration, and this administration’s pursuit
of an enemies list.”
Questions over the meaning of ‘weaponization’
In announcing the fund Monday, the Trump administration did not name
specific individuals who might stand to benefit from it. The money
itself would come from the federal judgment fund, which pays out
court judgments and compromise settlements of lawsuits against the
government.
Blanche told lawmakers that the Justice Department is committed to
“full transparency” in providing public information about
beneficiaries of the new fund.
“It’s not limited to Republicans. It’s not limited to Democrats.
It’s not limited to January 6th defendants. It’s limited only by the
term weaponization,” Blanche said, though the administration has not
said how it will define “weaponization.”
Meanwhile, there were signs of discomfort about the fund even among
some Republican members of Congress. Senate Majority Leader John
Thune told reporters that he’s “not a big fan,” adding that he isn’t
sure how the administration intends to use it, but doesn't “see a
purpose for that.”
Thune’s comments come after Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost
reelection in a GOP primary on Saturday, called it a “slush fund.”
“We are a nation of laws,” Cassidy said. “You can’t just make up
things.”
____
Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington
contributed to this report.
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