Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's latest order does away with the May 18 Anti-Weaponization Fund. However, buried in the fine print, the May 19 IRS immunity settlement stays untouched.
Rather than rolling that back, the memo accompanying the order restates the DOJ's position — that the immunity applies retroactively and only to the parties named in the agreement. In effect, Trump was ready to sacrifice the Jan. 6 defendants as long as his own IRS immunity deal remained protected.
Blanche had faced pushback from a handful of Senate Republicans — two of whom said they'd withhold their confirmation votes for attorney general unless he acted — pressuring him to scrap not just the fund, but also the separate provision in the settlement shielding Trump, his family, and his businesses from IRS audits.
Anything to protect the GOP's special boy.
Ben Meiselas called it an 'unenforceable sham document';
— Ben Meiselas (@meiselasb) August 3, 2026
This is just another day with Trump at the helm. The anti-weaponization fund has been the sticking point for GOP Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, who have held off backing Blanche's nomination until the DOJ formally confirms in writing that certain parts of the arrangement won't go forward. And yet, Blanche didn't even bother signing it. Still, somehow Cornyn appears to have caved. So, Blanche will be confirmed.
