Trump doubles down on $1.8 billion 'slush fund' that killed his agenda, spurred Republican rebellion

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump isn’t backing down from his administration’s latest move that has blown up his agenda in Congress. Trump on Friday stood by the newly created "anti-weaponization" fund that some Republicans have described as a slush fund launched by the Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier this week. He argued that what could have been a massive payday for himself was converted into "justice" for others. "I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward," Trump said on Truth Social. "I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune." SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ 'ANTI-WEAPONIZATION' FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING "Instead, I am helping others who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE! President DJT," he continued. The fund stemmed from an agreement among Trump, his family and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the government over the leak of their tax returns. The nearly $1.8 billion fund would "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare," according to the DOJ. But, its creation foiled his agenda in Congress to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol throughout his term. Republicans contended that the timing could have waited. REPUBLICANS RECOIL AS TRUMP'S BILLION-DOLLAR DOJ 'SLUSH FUND' FOR ALLIES THREATENS ICE, BORDER PATROL PLAN "Well, it would have been nice if they had consulted, and I think they probably would have gotten plenty of advice from lots of folks about it, but it's water under the bridge now," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. "And you play the hand you’re dealt, and we'll sort it out from here, but obviously it became a more complicated and bumpy path than we hoped," he c…