â–º Key Points – Anti-Weaponization Fund Judge Ruling Latest Update
- U.S. District Judge Richard Leon refused on June 10, 2026 to block the Anti-Weaponization Fund, accepting that Acting AG Blanche had already vowed not to move forward with it
- Judge Leon issued a sharp warning to the DOJ: “Don’t play possum with this court”, signaling he will act if the administration reverses course
- Acting AG Todd Blanche told Congress on June 3: “We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” effectively confirming it is scrapped for now
- A separate federal judge in Virginia had previously blocked the fund after a lawsuit from Democracy Forward, with the DOJ vowing to comply
- A third judge in Florida questioned whether the IRS settlement that created the fund was itself a fraud, giving Trump’s lawyers until June 12 to respond
- Senate Democrats led by Schumer and a separate legislative bill from Schiff, Kelly, and Merkley are pushing to permanently kill the fund through Congress
- The fund was created to settle Trump’s $10 billion IRS lawsuit over his leaked tax returns, with Trump personally receiving only an apology, not money
By TrenBuzz Staff · June 10, 2026 · 3 min read
The legal saga around Trump’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund took a dramatic new turn on Wednesday when a federal judge declined to block the fund, but did so only because Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had already told Congress the administration is not moving forward with it. The anti-weaponization fund judge ruling latest update as of June 10, 2026, leaves the fund technically alive but buried under three separate court proceedings, bipartisan congressional opposition, and a judge’s blunt warning not to “play possum” with the bench.
The story began when the DOJ announced the fund on May 18, 2026 as part of a settlement of Trump’s personal $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns. Immediately, it drew fire from both parties. A Virginia federal judge blocked it within days. Then on June 3, Blanche appeared before a House appropriations subcommittee and declared: “We are not moving forward with the fund, period.”
Three Courts, Three Judges and One Battered Fund
The anti-weaponization fund judge ruling landscape is now spread across three federal courts simultaneously. In Virginia, Judge Brinkema of the Eastern District blocked the fund after a suit by Democracy Forward, setting a June 12 hearing to decide whether that block should be made permanent. The DOJ said it would comply but “strongly disagreed” with the ruling, posting on X that the fund “was open to anybody.”
In Washington D.C., Judge Richard Leon on June 10 declined to block the fund separately, but only because Blanche’s congressional testimony had already put the fund on ice. His “don’t play possum” warning was directed squarely at the possibility the administration was telling courts one thing while planning to revive the fund through the back door once litigation pressure eased.
In Florida, Judge Kathleen Williams is asking whether the original IRS settlement that created the fund was itself a fraud on the court, given that Trump was effectively on both sides of the lawsuit. She has given Trump’s lawyers until June 12 to explain why the case should not be thrown out entirely on those grounds, a ruling that could retroactively erase the legal basis for the fund’s existence.
“We are not moving forward with the fund, period.”
Acting AG Todd Blanche, House Appropriations Subcommittee, June 3, 2026
What Killed the Fund Politically Before the Courts Did
Even before the courts weighed in, the Anti-Weaponization Fund had become a political catastrophe for the administration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune admitted it “makes everything way harder than it should be.” VP JD Vance’s widely watched White House briefing defense of the fund, including declining to rule out payments to Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police, became a viral news story that generated days of damaging headlines.
Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, launched a coordinated campaign to kill the fund through reconciliation amendments and floor votes. Democratic Senators Adam Schiff, Mark Kelly, and Jeff Merkley introduced formal legislation to eliminate it entirely. Even Republican senators in competitive seats went quiet rather than defend it publicly ahead of the November midterms.
The June 12 Virginia hearing remains the pivotal legal moment. If Judge Brinkema converts her temporary block into a permanent injunction, and the Florida judge rules the underlying settlement was fraudulent, the Anti-Weaponization Fund could be permanently extinguished by court order before the summer is out, with no money ever distributed to a single claimant.
🔗 Also Read: DOJ Anti-Weaponization Fund Backtrack Still Leaves Senate Republicans Unmoved
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and news reporting purposes only. Content is based on publicly available information sourced from CBS News, NPR, OPB, Washington Post, and News4Jax as of June 10, 2026, and does not constitute legal or political advice. TrenBuzz.com does not endorse any party in this litigation, any government policy, or any political position. All trademarks and names belong to their respective owners. Content is produced in compliance with Google AdSense publisher policies.