'Totally unacceptable': Former VP slams Trump's plan for $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund

Republican dissent over the Trump administration's proposed $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund continues to grow, with former Vice President Mike Pence becoming the latest to wade in, calling it "totally unacceptable" in an interview with CBS News' Margaret Brennan, and urging the administration to drop the idea of compensating those who assaulted police officers and vandalised the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

When asked whether Senate Republicans could push back given Trump's history of backing primary challengers against dissenting senators, Pence said he was heartened by the number of Republicans who had already spoken out against the fund. "Look, the people who attacked the Capitol should not get one dime of taxpayer money from that fund or anywhere else," he stated categorically.

Pence also broke with conservative orthodoxy by becoming one of the first Republicans to label it a slush fund outright—a term that had until now been the exclusive language of Democrats. "In Washington, we don't need slush funds to settle cases," he said. A slush fund typically refers to a pool of money held in reserve with little oversight or accountability. Critics argue such funds are ripe for misuse precisely because they operate outside normal budgetary scrutiny.

The former vice president is arguably the most prominent Republican to censure the weaponization fund, and his opposition carries particular weight given his role in certifying the 2020 election results despite enormous pressure. His comments on national television indicate that dissent within the GOP is not limited to the party's fringes. The midterms loom over all of this as Republicans who back the fund risk owning a policy that compensates convicted felons, a position that may be hard to defend come November.

The fund faces significant headwinds. A federal court has already temporarily blocked the government from moving forward with its creation, and Senate Republicans have made their opposition unequivocally clear. A meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was described as "tumultuous" by those present, with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) calling it "one of the roughest meetings I've seen in my entire time in the Senate."

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) went further, labeling the fund a "payout pot for punks" in a CNN interview and suggesting efforts will be made to push amendments into the budget reconciliation bill to rescind or defund the agreement when the Senate convenes in June. On the House side, a bipartisan bill is already in motion to bar the use of taxpayer funds for the fund entirely.