Former Vice President Mike Pence sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” on Sunday, calling it a “bad idea” and urging the administration to abandon the plan entirely.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, Pence said the fund deeply offends him because it could potentially compensate people involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“I mean, it’s deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on January 6th,” Pence said. “And I think that’s broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans.”
The $1.776 billion fund was announced by the Justice Department earlier this month. It was designed to provide payouts to individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted for prosecution for political reasons, including under the Biden administration’s Department of Justice. The fund was created as part of a legal settlement between the DOJ, the IRS, and Trump to resolve Trump’s lawsuit over the leak of his and the Trump Organization’s tax returns.
However, a federal judge issued a restraining order last week, temporarily blocking the fund while other legal challenges move through the court system.
The proposal has drawn bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill. Some lawmakers have labeled it a “slush fund.” Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York even drafted legislation to shut it down completely. Much of the criticism centers on fears that participants in the January 6 riot could apply for money, despite their actions against Capitol police and the violent events of that day.
Pence was at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to preside over the certification of the 2020 election results. As rioters stormed the building, some chanted “Hang Mike Pence.” He has previously stated that Trump’s words that day recklessly endangered him, his family, and others at the Capitol.
“I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said in 2023. “And his reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pence’s remarks.
Pence has supported many of Trump’s policy goals since leaving office but has remained critical of the former president’s conduct related to January 6.