Former Vice President Mike Pence denounced the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” saying it would be “unacceptable” and “deeply offensive” for January 6 rioters to obtain “one dime of taxpayer money.”
Pence, who was a target of rioters storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, said that he hopes the administration will drop the idea of the fund, created by the Justice Department to provide monetary relief to those who believe they were wrongfully prosecuted.
“The idea of creating a fund that could compensate people who assaulted police officers and vandalized the Capitol that day is totally unacceptable,” Pence, 66, told CBS News’ Face The Nation Sunday.
“I mean, it’s deeply offensive to me,” Pence added on NBC’s Meet the Press.
For years, Pence has strongly condemned the president and the rioters’ actions. That day, rioters, who wrongfully believed Pence had the power to decertify the election, chanted “Hang Mike Pence.”
“People that assaulted police officers on January 6 and vandalized our Capitol should not get one dime of taxpayer money from that fund or anywhere else,” Pence said.
Although Pence once served as President Donald Trump’s vice president, he is no longer an ally – a result of Trump’s refusal to condemn his supporters’ actions and rhetoric on January 6. Since leaving the White House in 2021, Pence has sought to appeal to traditional Republicans who reject Trump’s populist approach.
“I’ll never minimize what happened on January 6, and I’ll always believe, by God’s grace, we did our duty that day to see to the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution,” Pence reiterated.
Trump’s former vice president is just the latest Republican to balk at the idea of the $1.776 billion so-called “slush fund.”
Several GOP lawmakers, including Senators Mitch McConnell and Thom Tillis, have joined Democrats in rejecting the idea of taxpayer money going to the president’s allies – especially January 6 rioters who Trump pardoned last year.
Republican Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska recently told constituents that he did not agree with the idea of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” emphasizing that not a single penny should go to a January 6 rioter.
“I want to be very clear, I do not think we should be creating any fund for people who commit physical violence against law enforcement,” Flood said during a town hall last week. Constituents responded with applause in agreement.
Other Republicans have reportedly privately told top White House aides that the administration should drop the fund because it looks bad, politically, heading into the midterm elections.
During a closed-door meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, dozens of Republicans allegedly yelled at the top Trump official, Senator Ted Cruz revealed on his podcast.
The Justice Department has sought to justify the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” by claiming it is a nonpartisan fund that allows anyone who believes they were wrongly prosecuted to seek monetary relief.
The fund emerged as an unusual settlement option in a lawsuit brought by Trump, his adult sons and his business against the IRS for leaked tax returns. The DOJ has said that neither the president nor his adult sons would be able to obtain payments from the fund if it were approved.
