Ex-US vice president says he hopes Trump administration will drop its proposed 'weaponization fund'

Former US Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that he hopes the Trump administration will abandon its proposed “anti-weaponization fund,” which has drawn criticism on Capitol Hill and exposed divisions among Republicans.

"The idea of creating a fund that could compensate people who assaulted police officers and vandalized the Capitol that day is totally unacceptable," Pence said during an interview on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.

The $1.776 billion fund would use taxpayer money to compensate people who claim the legal system was “weaponized” against them.

It was created as part of a settlement in President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS.

But it has split Republicans, particularly because some Trump supporters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack have expressed interest in filing claims.

The proposal sparked a tense meeting among Senate Republicans earlier this month and led GOP leaders to abandon plans to fund immigration enforcement.

Pence said on Sunday that he was encouraged by Senate Republicans who had publicly opposed the fund.

“My hope is the administration will drop it, drop the idea entirely,” he said.

Pence, who was targeted by rioters at the Capitol while Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021, said on Sunday that anyone who attacked police officers or damaged the Capitol that day should not receive taxpayer money from the fund or any other source.

Senate Republicans have also been pressing for details on how the fund would work, who would qualify for payments, and whether safeguards would be added to prevent people who assaulted law enforcement from being compensated.

Pence underlined that the Justice Department "can settle these issues where people have had their rights trampled on and ought to do that."

"I welcome that settlement greatly," he added.

On Friday, a federal judge temporarily barred the Justice Department from moving forward with work on the fund.

The Justice Department has expressed confidence in the fund's legality amid a handful of challenges to its implementation.

Asked about the Jan. 6 attack more broadly, Pence said he has "certainly seen evidence" that the administration is white washing that day, adding that he was "offended on the anniversary of Jan. 6 when the White House put out a timeline that literally blamed Capitol Hill police for the riot that took place that day."

"Look, I'm very confident of the judgment of history in the years ahead, about our role, about all the Republicans and Democrats who returned that day after Capitol Police secured the Capitol, and we all did our duty under the Constitution," Pence said.

"There's clearly been an effort by some to rewrite that history, but I don't expect it'll work."