Tillis says DOJ's 'Anti-Weaponization' Fund' is 'a payout pot for punks'
Source: Politico
05/24/2026 11:10 AM EDT
Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday ratcheted up criticism of President Donald Trump, issuing a sharp rebuke of the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” the retiring North Carolina Republican called the fund, which allocates money toward “anti-weaponization” efforts, “stupid on stilts.”
“I call it a payout pot for punks,” Tillis said. “It makes no sense. So it’s politically tone deaf. Whoever did it should be fired. Let’s figure out a way to help people who are victims of warfare, not people who are convicted by a jury of their peers or pled guilty to assaulting a police officer. Please.”
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is a $1.776 billion fund announced by the Justice Department in May which will allow people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes, including by the Biden administration DOJ, to apply for payouts. The fund is part of an agreement between the DOJ, the IRS and President Donald Trump to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his and the Trump Organization’s tax returns and other claims. That suit, filed in January 2026, includes two of the president’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization as plaintiffs.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/24/tillis-payout-pot-punks-weaponization-fund-00935175?utm_medium=bluesky&utm_source=dlvr.it