Trump Weaponizes Fund Created To Prevent Weaponization
President Donald Trump defended the nation from government weaponization Saturday by threatening to deploy a $1.776 billion government fund against Republican senators who refuse to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general. The constitutional breakthrough came one day after Trump declared the Anti-Weaponization Fund “dead,” confirming that federal programs remain deceased only until the president needs them to punish someone. The fund, created through a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, is designed to prevent government power from being used for personal or political retaliation by placing that power under the exclusive personal supervision of Donald Trump.
Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded written assurances that the fund would not be revived, an aggressive attack on Washington’s traditional handshake, wink and subsequent denial system of fiscal oversight. “These senators are weaponizing confirmation against anti-weaponization, which means we need the fund more than ever,” Trump said. “Todd is fantastic, the money is beautiful, and nobody protects taxpayers better than giving nearly two billion taxpayer dollars to people who agree with me.” Administration officials said the statement settled the legal issue because it contained both a large number and the word “taxpayers.”
Tillis, who has called Blanche qualified, said the nomination would remain blocked unless the administration resolves the fund’s status. Cornyn also requested clarification that the settlement’s protections against tax audits for Trump and his family would not extend indefinitely across more than 100 Trump Organization entities. The demand introduced the radical theory that future taxes should remain auditable even when the taxpayer owns several buildings, a social media platform and the presidency. White House allies dismissed the concern as weaponized accountability, the most dangerous form of accountability because it occasionally produces consequences.
Trump threatened to keep Blanche as acting attorney general if the Senate withheld confirmation, demonstrating that Senate approval is indispensable whenever the Senate approves and unconstitutional whenever it does not. Under the administration’s revised separation of powers, Congress may advise, the president may ignore, and federal money may be declared dead before returning to discipline insufficiently enthusiastic Republicans. The Anti-Weaponization Fund has therefore been successfully protected from weaponization by being weaponized first.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.