President Trump’s Justice Department set out to do something no administration had tried before: build a formal process to compensate Americans hit by government weaponization and lawfare.
A federal judge in Virginia just put that effort on ice.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee, entered an order on May 29, 2026 enjoining the DOJ and Treasury from creating or operating the Anti-Weaponization Fund while a legal challenge gets briefed.
That means no transferring money into the fund, no considering claims, and no disbursing a single dollar until the court rules. The hearing is reset for Friday, June 12, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
The order landed in Eastern District of Virginia case 1:26-cv-1399, brought by Andrew Floyd and other plaintiffs against the Department of Justice and other defendants.
The anti-Trump crowd online wasted no time celebrating the freeze.
Judge Leonie Brinkema in EDVA has enjoined Trump’s 1776 slush fund from going into operation for now. pic.twitter.com/SSxLsu50RT
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) May 29, 2026
The court order lays out exactly what is paused and on what schedule.
Before the Court is plaintiffs’ Expedited Motion for Briefing Schedule, which requests an expedited briefing and hearing schedule for its pending Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, or in the alternative, a preliminary injunction with expedited briefing and a stay under 5 U.S.C. 705.
Defendants opposed that request and asked for additional time to respond. The court denied plaintiffs’ expedited briefing request and granted defendants more time, but still ordered that defendants are enjoined from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
The order says that includes transferring money to the fund, considering any claims submitted to the fund, and disbursing any funds from the fund. It also says the pause is needed to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed while the plaintiffs’ motion is pending. Defendants must file opposition by June 5, plaintiffs must reply by June 10, and the hearing is reset to June 12, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
So the fund is frozen, not killed. Brinkema gave both sides a briefing calendar and set the real fight for June 12.
The DOJ announced the fund on May 18, 2026 as part of the settlement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service.
That case grew out of the leak of more than 400,000 tax returns, including the Trump family’s, by a bad actor inside the IRS.
The Justice Department explained what the fund was built to do and how the settlement worked.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that as part of the settlement agreement in President Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, the Attorney General established The Anti-Weaponization Fund.
DOJ said the fund would provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.
The department said President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization filed suit after the leak of their tax returns.
Per the settlement, the plaintiffs receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and that the department intended to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again. DOJ said the fund will receive $1.776 billion from the judgment fund, report quarterly to the Attorney General, protect private information, avoid fraud, and stop processing claims no later than December 1, 2028.
Note who walks away with nothing. President Trump, President Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization get a formal apology and zero dollars in damages.
The $1.776 billion was set aside to redress other Americans, drawn from the judgment fund, with anything left over reverting to the federal government when the fund stops processing claims no later than December 1, 2028.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the administration’s case plainly.
@SecScottBessent on the Anti-Weaponization Fund – “@POTUS Trump is a great American who has endured more than 10 years nonstop harassment and weaponization from federal and state government actors. A bad actor at the IRS leaked more than 400,000 tax returns, including the Trump… pic.twitter.com/rAQhRFsAD1
— liten drage (@DrageLiten) May 28, 2026
The fight now moves to June 12, when Brinkema decides whether the freeze holds. The administration’s plan to give weaponization victims a real path to redress is still on the table, and the DOJ still has to defend it in court.
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