WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that the Trump administration is scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the Republican president after widespread political backlash and setbacks in the courts.
"We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche said.
Blanche's comments during a House committee hearing came in response to mounting pressure from Republicans for reassurances that the Justice Department's plans were off the table before they would move forward with legislation funding President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agencies.
The Trump administration had previously defended the fund as an appropriate measure make up for what officials insist was a weaponized Justice Department during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, a claim the Biden administration strongly denied.
This story will be updated.
