A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's $1.8 billion settlement fund created to compensate people the president claims were persecuted by the government, halting any money transfers or payouts while lawsuits challenging its legality move forward.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia issued the temporary restraining order Friday after a former January 6 prosecutor and other opponents filed suit the previous week. The fund, being managed by the Justice Department, cannot disburse money, accept new claims, or transfer funds to the account while legal motions are pending, according to the order.
Andrew Floyd, who previously led the Capitol Siege Section at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia before his dismissal in July, filed a declaration supporting the lawsuit. Floyd described the fund as an illegally created mechanism designed to "rush money out the door to perceived political allies" while targeting former prosecutors like himself who investigated January 6 defendants.
"The president's targeting of me and others involved in January 6 prosecutions leaves our country in a very dark place, sending a message that insurrection and sedition will be protected and even encouraged as long as it is on behalf of this administration," Floyd wrote in his declaration.
The fund has drawn criticism from both parties. Democrats and Republicans have called it a massive "slush fund," citing concerns about minimal public oversight and unclear application procedures. Senate Republican leaders even delayed voting on an ICE and Border Patrol funding package partly because of worries about the settlement, according to NBC News.
The Trump administration has not formally opened the application process. Five commissioners must be appointed to decide how money gets distributed, though applicants have already begun submitting claims. The Justice Department has described the pool of potential recipients as substantial but has not clarified how people would formally apply.
The fund's creation coincided with the Trump administration's broader effort to revisit January 6 cases. The president mass pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants on his first day back in office. Last week, the Justice Department began removing press releases about January 6 prosecutions from its website, labeling them "partisan propaganda."
"We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes," the Justice Department stated on social media.
Additional lawsuits challenging the fund are pending in Washington. The White House declined to comment, referring inquiries to the Justice Department, which also did not immediately respond to the restraining order.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This looks like the judicial system actually pumping the brakes on what opponents see as raw executive overreach, but the fund is far from finished fighting."
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