ICYMI: Sens. Schiff, Kelly, Slotkin Introduce Legislation to Prevent Trump’s Politically Directed Slush Fund, Prevent Future Weaponization of DOJ

Senators Schiff, Kelly, and Slotkin held a press conference to announce the legislation. The livestream can be viewed here.

Washington, D.C. - In case you missed it, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) introduced the Drain the Slush Fund Act, new legislation that would shutter President Donald Trump's so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund and prevent taxpayer dollars from being paid to the President or his allies including those convicted of crimes or those related to the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

The Drain the Slush Fund Act would also prevent future presidential abuse of the Department of Justice's Settlement Fund by banning any settlements or payments stemming from a claim or lawsuit filed by the President of the United States or the Vice President. The introduction of the bill will prevent any abuse or corrupt settlements from this fund or any in the future.

Read more about the bill here and see coverage below:  

CBS News: Senate Democrats launch campaign to kill what DOJ calls its "anti-weaponization" fund

Senate Democrats are launching a coordinated effort to kill the Trump administration's $1.7+ billion "anti-weaponization" fund. In a "Dear Colleague" letter released Monday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will use a variety of strategies, from floor action to oversight, to block President Trump's "nearly $2 billion MAGA slush fund."

"If Republicans return to reconciliation, we will be ready with amendments to shut the fund down," Schumer wrote. "If they try to bury the issue, we will force them to the Senate floor. If they try to sneak behind appropriations, we will fight them there, too. There will be no escape hatch. No fake guardrails or backroom promises to hide behind."

In addition, a trio of Democratic Senators are introducing a bill Monday to shut down the fund and prevent taxpayer dollars from being paid to the president or his allies, including those convicted of crimes or related to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. The measure, dubbed the Drain the Slush Fund Act, is sponsored by Sens. Adam Schiff, of California, Mark Kelly, of Arizona, and Elissa Slotkin, of Michigan.

"As Republicans return to Washington to provide further funding for this and other mistaken priorities, we're going to hold them accountable," Schiff said. "And as Senators who have actually seen their government weaponized against them, we want to make it clear: We will not allow a single payout from this so-called weaponization fund to be paid."

Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department from moving forward with work on the new fund. A department spokesperson said it "remains extremely confident in the legality of the Anti-Weaponization Fund which is supported by ample precedent, including Obama-era settlements."

The $1.776 billion fund would provide taxpayer-funded payouts to people who allege the legal system has been "weaponized" against them. It's part of an agreement between President Trump and the federal government to settle his lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department over the leak of his tax returns.

Senate Republicans are considering adding potential guardrails to the fund as part of a broader $72 billion reconciliation package for immigration enforcement agencies. GOP leaders scrapped votes on the party-line measure last month after a contentious meeting over the DOJ fund with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

"They (Trump administration) need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned," Majority Leader John Thune told reporters at the time.

Blanche will return to Capitol Hill this week for an oversight hearing before a House Appropriations subcommittee.

The New Republic: Democrats Are Starting to Fight Back Against Trump's MAGA Slush Fund

Three Democratic senators introduced a bill Monday to kill Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" slush fund.

Senators Adam Schiff of California, Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan introduced the "Drain the Fund Act," which they said would block taxpayer dollars from being funneled to Trump and his allies, including individuals convicted in connection with the January 6 riot, public figures who spread election misinformation, and the leader of a violent hate group.

"As Republicans return to Washington to provide further funding for this and other mistaken priorities, we're going to hold them accountable," Schiffsaid in a statement. "And as Senators who have actually seen their government weaponized against them, we want to make it clear: We will not allow a single payout from this so-called weaponization fund to be paid."

The bill would also ban settlements stemming from suits brought by the president or the vice president, and be retroactive to January 20, 2025. That would functionally undo the recent settlement for Trump's failing $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Services that produced the fund, and blocked the president from future audits.

Last week, a federal judge issued a restraining order to ensure that no taxpayer dollars would be "irreversibly disbursed" from the fund before the legal battle could play out.

But the bill is only part of the plan. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that Democrats would introduce an amendment to their $72 billion budget reconciliation bill in order to shut down the fund. "If they try to bury the issue, we will force them to the Senate floor. If they try to sneak behind appropriations, we will fight them there, too. There will be no escape hatch. No fake guardrails or backroom promises to hide behind," Schumer said.

The Hill: Senate Democrats unveil bill to block Trump's 'anti-weaponization' fund

Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) on Monday introduced legislation to block the Trump administration's "anti-weaponization" fund, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) scrapped earlier in the day.

The bill, dubbed the Drain the Slush Fund Act, would bar the use of taxpayer money for payments to President Trump, his associates, individuals convicted of crimes or those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The bill would also put restrictions on the DOJ's settlement fund, prohibiting settlements or payments arising from claims or lawsuits brought by a sitting president or vice president. That restriction would be retroactive to the day of Trump's second inauguration.

The DOJ on Monday abandoned the $1.776 billion fund it created last month as part of a settlement agreement in Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). That was after federal judges in Virginia and Florida on Friday temporarily halted the fund from making payouts and reopened the president's suit against the IRS, respectively.

The department wrote on the social platform X that while it "disagrees strongly" with the decision by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia, it will abide by her ruling.

When acting Attorney General Todd Blanche unveiled the fund last month, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pushed back. Democrats largely slammed it as a "slush fund" for those involved in Jan. 6, while some Republicans argued similarly - with Senate Republicans taking Blanche to task during a May 21 meeting on the fund.

In unveiling their legislation, Kelly, Schiffand Slotkin slammed the fund, with Kelly calling it "theft in broad daylight," Schiff referring to it as "one of the most brazenly corrupt schemes we've ever seen from a U.S. president" and Slotkin saying it is "an unprecedented misuse of taxpayer money."

That particular trio sponsoring the bill is notable. Earlier this year, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro unsuccessfully sought a grand jury indictment of Kelly, Slotkin, and four House Democrats with military or intelligence backgrounds for recording a video urging military members and intelligence officers to refuse illegal orders.

Kelly, a retired Navy captain, is also embroiled in a legal fight with the Pentagon, which has tried to reduce his rank in the wake of the video.

Schiff, meanwhile, was the subject of a DOJ probe into alleged mortgage fraud last year.

"As Republicans return to Washington to provide further funding for this and other mistaken priorities, we're going to hold them accountable, and force a vote on this language to shut down the slush fund once and for all," Schiffsaid in a release. "Americans see the cost of this corruption coming out of their own pockets.

"And as Senators who have actually seen their government weaponized against them, we want to make it clear: we will not allow a single payout from this so-called weaponization fund to be paid."

Los Angeles Times: Trump's $1.8-billion fund unravels amid court setbacks, bipartisan pushback

California Sen, Adam Schiff,along with Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, introduced the "Drain the Slush Fund Act."

The White House declined to comment on whether the administration would also make changes to the tax immunity clause.

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is backing away from plans to create a $1.8-billion fund to compensate people who claim the government was weaponized against them, a retreat that comes amid a cascade of legal setbacks and a revolt within members of the Republican Party.

But Senate Democrats say the concession is not enough, and are pushing legislation to ensure no president can ever attempt the creation of such a fund again.

"If Republicans are serious about ending this brazenly corrupt scheme, they should have no problem voting for legislation banning any president from creating such a slush fund in the future," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote Monday in a post on X.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) added that Democrats plan to force a vote on a measure to ensure that Trump and Republicans are "truly abandoning this corrupt scheme."

"Trump's word is nowhere near enough," Schumer wrote on X. Earlier in the day, Schumer vowed to force a floor vote to make Republican lawmakers take a public stance on the issue.

Schiff,along with Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, introduced the "Drain the Slush Fund Act" on Monday. The bill, if approved, would bar any payout arising from a lawsuit filed by a president or vice president, language that is designed to permanently foreclose the fund, or anything like it, from being put in place by a future administration.

The White House did not comment on the president's thinking. But in a statement, the Department of Justice said the decision to scrap the fund was in response to a federal judge's ruling last week that temporarily blocked payouts from the fund while legal challenges remain pending. The department said it "disagrees strongly" with the move, but stopped short of saying it would challenge the decision.

"This fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise," the statement read. "The Department will abide by the Court's ruling."

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who was nominated to the bench by President Clinton, a Democrat, has scheduled a June 12 hearing for argument on whether to extend the order blocking the fund.

While the court ruling is not permanent, the unraveling over the fund is a notable defeat for Trump, who has cast it as a long-overdue reckoning for Americans he says were targeted by "an evil, corrupt and weaponized Biden administration." For Republicans who publicly criticized the fund, it may come as a relief as the concept had been widely seen as a political liability heading into the midterm elections.

The Department of Justice created the fund to settle a lawsuit Trump personally brought against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The settlement also includes a clause permanently barring the IRS from pursuing any tax claims against Trump and his businesses that were filed before May 19 - a provision that, according to an analysis by Forbes, would save Trump and his family more than $600 million.

The White House declined to comment on whether the administration would also make changes to the tax immunity clause. The Democrats' bill does not address that provision.

"Congress doesn't need to pass a law to remind the Acting Attorney General [Todd Blanche] that he doesn't have the authority to grant a blanket pardon for tax crimes by the president, much less when the AG is his personal attorney," a Schiffspokesperson said in a statement. "The attempt at IRS immunity is corrupt and undoubtedly illegal - and we look forward to seeing it exposed as a fraud."

Beyond Trump's own legal disputes with the IRS, the fund was structured to accept claims from anyone who said they had been targeted by the government, a category the administration made clear could include those who were convicted for attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump pardoned and commuted the prison sentences of 1,500 people who were charged in connection with the attack, and neither he nor Vice President JD Vance ruled out the possibility that those individuals would be able to receive money from the fund.

KCAL CBS: Challenging Anti-Weaponization Fund

Yuccas: Also, in Washington today, Senate democrats are ramping up efforts to block the Trump administration's $1.7 billion dollar anti-weaponization fund. Three Democratic Senators, Adam Schiff, Mark Kelly, and Elissa Slotkin are introducing the Drain the Slush Fund Act. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned he has several plans to counter potential Republican moves and said, "No matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote on it."

Scripps News: Under Pressure, Trump Admin Backs Off 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund, For Now

Reed: Democrats yesterday making clear that they're going to take the lead on this one, they're going to force a vote on a bill at some point in the coming days to try and outlaw to try and prevent this weaponization fund from ever coming back or being legal in the future, a law that would potentially affect to future presidential administrations as well. Here's Senator Adam Schiff in a press conference yesterday.

Schiff (in clip): There will be no hiding from this issue, and our Republican colleagues need to understand that they can join us in disavowing this kind of self-dealing corruption or they're going to own it. It is not personal to this president and vice president, it would prohibit any future president from doing the same thing. And for that reason, I would hope that we would have our colleagues join us in it.

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