Democrats sparred with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a heated hearing over the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion government weaponization compensation fund, with critics accusing the Trump administration of corruption and Blanche insisting the program is legitimate. Sen. Patty Murray condemned the fund as “nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting from the Treasury for his own gain,” while Sen. Jack Reed called it “a travesty of the law” and questioned whether President Donald Trump would influence the commissioners overseeing payouts. Blanche repeatedly pushed back against accusations the fund was politically motivated, arguing it was not a “slush fund” and saying similar compensation programs have existed before.
Read more at https://nypost.com/2026/05/18/us-news/trump-admin-live-updates-may-18-19-20-21-22/
#departmentofjustice #toddblanche #jackreed #corruption #pattymurray
The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more.
Check out our three new podcasts:
NYNext (week): https://www.youtube.com/@nynext1
Pod Force One with MIranda Devine (weekly): https://www.youtube.com/@PodForce1
NY POSTcast (daily): https://www.youtube.com/@NYPOSTcast
Get The Post’s latest headlines everyday with our Morning Report newsletter:
https://tinyurl.com/NYPOSTSIGNUP
Catch the latest news at http://www.nypost.com.
Follow The New York Post on:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost