Trump Sued His Own Government. Then Settled With Himself. Then Created a $1.8 Billion Fund.

On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the creation of "The Anti-Weaponization Fund" — a $1.776 billion taxpayer-financed pool of money meant to compensate Americans who claim the government targeted them unfairly. According to the official DOJ press release, the fund originated as part of a settlement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization.

The lawsuit was over the leak of Trump's tax returns, which revealed he paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017, according to reporting cited by legal analyst Ray Brescia at ms.now.

The Conflict of Interest

Trump the private citizen sued the IRS. The IRS is run by Trump the president. The settlement was negotiated by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — who, before taking that job, was Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer.

Trump himself acknowledged the arrangement. According to ms.now, he told reporters on Air Force One in January that the situation was "very interesting," adding: "I'll have to work out a settlement with myself."

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in the Southern District of Florida flagged the problem in writing. She noted the case lacked basic "adverseness" — meaning the two sides weren't actually fighting each other — which is a constitutional requirement for any federal lawsuit under Article III. She ordered written arguments by May 20, 2026, with a hearing set for May 27, 2026. The deal was announced before that hearing could happen.

What the Fund Actually Does

According to the DOJ's own press release, Trump and his family receive a formal apology but ZERO monetary payment. In exchange, they dropped the IRS lawsuit plus two additional administrative claims — including one related to the Mar-a-Lago raid and another related to the Russia investigation.

The $1.776 billion goes to other people — not the plaintiffs. Specifically, people who claim they were victims of government "weaponization" or "lawfare." The fund is administered by DOJ-appointed volunteers with no judicial oversight.

Critics — including some who are NOT Democrats — have raised several concerns.

The Constitutional Problem

The Society for the Rule of Law Institute issued a formal condemnation, noting that the Constitution's Appropriations Clause states plainly: "no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law." Congress did NOT authorize this $1.776 billion. Not one penny of it.

The administration points to the Obama-era Keepseagle litigation as precedent — a settlement that used the existing Judgment Fund. The Society for the Rule of Law disputed that comparison: Keepseagle resulted from over a decade of real litigation and was approved by a federal judge. This fund was not.

Treasury Department General Counsel Brian Morrissey resigned over the fund, according to the Society for the Rule of Law Institute. The mainstream media has given limited attention to that development.

The Immunity Clause

Buried in the deal: Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization receive blanket immunity from IRS tax penalties going forward. Former DOJ civil division branch director Jennifer Ricketts told the New York Times: "I have never heard of the department ever being willing to grant blanket immunity. That seems blatantly corrupt. It's a shocking gift to the president."

Ricketts is a DOJ veteran describing standard department practice — or what appears to be the complete abandonment of it.

Jan. 6 Officers Move to Block the Fund

Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges — both of whom defended the Capitol on January 6, 2021 — are expected to file suit to block the fund, according to the New York Times. Their lawsuit names Trump, Blanche, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as defendants.

Their core allegation: the fund will be used to pay the nearly 1,600 people charged in the January 6 attack. The administration has NOT denied that January 6 defendants could receive payments. It has said only that "there are no partisan requirements" for claiming from the fund.

Republican Opposition

Left-leaning outlets like the NYT have covered this heavily — but some reporting has missed that Republican lawmakers are also pushing back. According to the NYT's own reporting, Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) have both expressed doubt about the fund. Both are members of Trump's own party.

Meanwhile, Fox News and right-leaning outlets have largely framed the fund as a justified correction of Biden-era overreach — without addressing the constitutional Appropriations Clause problem or the self-dealing immunity grant. Both framings are incomplete.

The Next Step

$1.776 billion will be handed out by government volunteers, with no judge approving who gets what, structured around a lawsuit that the presiding judge herself questioned as constitutionally deficient.

Some people may have been genuinely targeted unfairly by the government. That's a real issue. But a process where the president sues his own agency, settles with himself through his former personal lawyer, grants his own family permanent IRS immunity, and routes $1.8 billion to an unaccountable fund — is a departure from how such disputes have been handled.

The May 27 court hearing with Judge Williams is the next date to watch. If she rules the original lawsuit was constitutionally invalid, the legal foundation for this entire fund collapses.