House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) filed a discharge petition Monday to kill the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
Raskin will need six Republicans to reach the necessary 218 signatures to force a vote on the legislation, but he said he has not yet received any commitments from Republicans. The legislative procedure bypasses the committee process and forces legislation directly to a floor vote if a simple majority signs on in support.
“I just filed papers for a discharge petition to block the $1.776 billion political slush fund that Todd Blanche and Donald Trump want to create for Donald Trump and for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and other convicted criminals, and it would also block their attempt to deal themselves criminal, civil, and tax immunity for any offenses that the president has committed, or his family have committed, or his businesses have committed up until now,” the ranking member told reporters.
Raskin’s petition aims to force a vote on terminating the fund through legislation, though it has been blocked by a federal judge. The fund would “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare,” according to the Justice Department. Its announcement by the DOJ led to weeks of turmoil on Capitol Hill as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers railed against it.
While DOJ has claimed the fund is “not going forward,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to provide a sworn declaration confirming that the proposed anti-weaponization fund has been abandoned, arguing that a federal judge’s demand for such assurances raises separation-of-powers concerns.
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“People have been a little confused because Todd Blanche has said, ‘Oh, we’re not moving forward on it,’” Raskin said. “Well, when your car comes to a stop sign, you’re not moving forward, but five seconds later you are moving forward. And so, we need to cement into law that they can’t do this.
“And Donald Trump, of course, keeps saying he loves the idea, and he wants to do it,” Raskin added. “So we need to put it into law that we will reject any use of the taxpayers’ money for these purposes.”