Democracy Forward

Press Release

State of Play – The Trump-Vance Administration’s $1.776 Billion Slush Fund

To:       Reporters and News Producers

From: Democracy Forward

Re:       State of Play – The Trump-Vance Administration’s $1.776 Billion Slush Fund

Date:  Jun 18, 2026

In a rapid-response challenge to one of the most flagrantly unconstitutional uses of presidential authority, a diverse coalition of individuals and organizations filed a lawsuit on May 22 challenging the Trump-Vance administration’s creation of a $1.776 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The administration concocted the taxpayer-funded program, designed to benefit Trump loyalists alone, through a private settlement agreement that sought to resolve the unrelated lawsuit by the president, his sons, and their family business against the IRS over disclosure of their tax returns. Rather than litigating that case and raising viable defenses, the administration reached the agreement notwithstanding the inherent conflict of interests. That case has now been reopened to examine the issues of collusion and fraud on the court. 

On May 28, we requested injunctive relief to stop the Slush Fund from moving forward, and on May 29, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia temporarily stopped defendants from taking any actions pursuant to the creation or operation of the fund. After the government argued in a court filing that the case was moot based on its representation that it was not moving forward with the Slush Fund while declining to provide sworn testimony, official documentation, or other competent evidence demonstrating that the program has actually been abandoned, we sought expedited discovery. At a June 12 hearing on our motion for preliminary relief, the court entered a preliminary injunction, pausing the Slush Fund while the case continues.

In issuing her June 12 order, Judge Leonie Brinkema said that “to avoid any further litigation in this civil action” the defendants Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr., and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent must “file a declaration under the penalty of perjury that they will not take any action to create or operate the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and that the Anti Weaponization Fund will not proceed in any manner, or under any name.” Defendants have until June 19 to file the declaration. 

In anticipation of that deadline, here are the most likely scenarios:

  • The administration files a declaration that meets the court’s requirement that “that they will not take any action to create or operate the Anti-Weaponization Fund, and that the Anti-Weaponization Fund will not proceed in any manner, or under any name.” This would be the first time the government has made that assertion under oath and penalty of perjury. In that circumstance, the preliminary injunction will remain in place until further court action. 
  • The administration files a declaration that is insufficient or opts to not to file a declaration. In either of those circumstances, the court has stated that it will issue a scheduling order and that the case will proceed with the preliminary injunction in place.

Ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, here is an on the record comment from Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward:

“While mistruths and obfuscation may be the standard playbook for the Trump-Vance administration, it is telling that they have repeatedly refused to say under oath that the Slush Fund is truly dead. We won’t stop fighting to stop this corrupt billion-dollar Slush Fund that they tried to shield from accountability and scrutiny so they could distribute public money based on politics and ideology.” 

The plaintiffs in this case, Andrew Floyd et al v. U.S. Department of Justice et al., include former career federal prosecutor and January 6th prosecutor Andrew Floyd, Professor Jonathan Caravello, the City of New Haven, the National Abortion Federation, and Common Cause. Democracy Forward represents them in this case. 

The lawsuit argues that the fund violates the First Amendment, equal protection principles, separation of powers, the Administrative Procedure Act, and constitutional restrictions on federal spending. At its core, the complaint challenges the administration’s use of nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to operate a secretive, politically discriminatory compensation scheme with minimal transparency, oversight, or judicial review – and no authorization from Congress.

Timeline of events

  • May 22, 2026 – The complaint was filed.
  • May 28, 2026 = Plaintiffs file a motion for emergency relief to stop payments from the fund.
  • May 29, 2026 – The court issues an order maintaining the status quo while briefing on Plaintiffs’ motion proceeds.
  • June 4, 2026 – Senators Cory Booker and Bill Cassidy file an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs. 
  • June 9, 2026 – Plaintiffs file a motion for limited expedited discovery to require evidence of abandonment of the slush fund. 
  • June 12, 2026 – The court issues an order on the motion for preliminary relief, pausing the slush fund while the case continues.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org. 

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