House Democrats attack Trump’s $1.7bn compensation fund as ‘corruption unparalleled’ – US politics live

'Corruption unparalleled': House Democrats slam deal as 'slush fund' that would give taxpayer dollars to Trump's alliesDemocrats have harshly criticized the settlement, saying it amounts to the creation of a “slush fund” for the president’s allies. Ninety-three congressional Democrats – including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries – filed an amicus brief with the court on Monday saying that such a claim “raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history”.In the brief, the lawmakers accuse the justice department of having “colluded” with Donald Trump and asking the judge to dismiss the case herself, arguing that the president is effectively “self-dealing” because he has a role on both sides of the litigation.“Never in the history of the United States has a sitting president sought a monetary settlement from the government he leads – let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds,” their lawyers wrote.“Should this lawsuit achieve Plaintiffs’ desired ends, it would result in the improper and unconstitutional transfer of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies.”“Congress has not authorized any fund, much less one involving billions of taxpayer dollars, for these purposes,” they added.In a press release, representative Jamie Raskin, the House judiciary committee’s ranking member, said: double quotation markNo president can concoct a fake case for $10 billion in damages against the government so he can be plaintiff and defendant and then ‘settle’ his bogus case against himself as a judge. ShareUpdated at 19.05 CESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureAn official Republicans account posted a graph on X that shows a sharp reduction in drug overdose deaths between January 2025, when Trump came to power, and December 2025. The graph is captioned “border security saves lives,” and it thanks the president.The photo also credits a CDC website for the data in the graph, which presents a fuller view of US overdose deaths over 11 years. The data shows that the decline in drug overdose deaths began during the Biden presidency, after first rising during Trump’s first term.Drug overdose deaths fell more sharply, about 23.3%, during Biden’s final year in office as compared with the 13.4% decline during the first year of Trump’s second term, according to the CDC data linked in the post.ShareUpdated at 21.40 CESTOver 145,000 US children separated from parents since Trump’s ICE surge, study estimatesMore than 145,000 US children have likely experienced a parent being detained by immigration authorities since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to a new report published Monday by the Brookings Institution, a reputed US thinkthank.The report estimates that about 146,635 children who are US citizens have had a parent detained during the mass deportation campaign the Trump administration embarked on after he retook office in early January. The study further found that of those children, more than 22,000 experienced the detention of all of their co-resident parents.Roughly 36% were younger than six years old, underscoring a hardline immigration enforcement strategy that has drawn widespread criticism from civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups.The report also found that the largest share of US citizen children with a detained parent are linked to Mexico, accounting for nearly 54%, while children with parents from Guatemala and Honduras together make up more than 25%.Washington DC and Texas have had the highest share of American children with an affected parent, with more than five per 1,000 facing parental immigration detention, according to the report.ShareVice-President JD Vance is in Kansas City, Missouri this afternoon, speaking at the Milbank Manufacturing Company.“It’s great to be here in Kansas City,” Vance said. “We love our American workers.”Vance praised some of the elected officials in attendance and thanked Missouri’s Republican leaders for redrawing the state’s congressional map.States in the country, including Missouri, have rushed to redraw congressional maps to delete or shrink Democratic districts and decrease the power of Black votes in electing candidates.ShareUpdated at 20.34 CESTSenator Thom Tillis told his colleagues that he will not vote for the budget reconciliation bill if it’s considered this week, threatening the passage of the bill, Axios reported on Monday.Tillis said he could support the bill if his concerns about its timing and any mentions of funding of Trump’s ballroom are heard.View image in fullscreenThe Republican senator Thom Tillis at the US Capitol in March 2026. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/APOther Republican senators have also raised concerns about the $72bn package, especially the $1bn for the Secret Service and funding for the ballroom. Funding for the Secret Service was taken out of the bill after a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian on Saturday.Tillis believes that being in Washington DC to vote could hamper the winning chances of the Republican senator John Cornyn in the Texas primary next week.ShareUpdated at 20.35 CESTDefense secretary Pete Hegseth is speaking at a campaign rally for Ed Gallrein who is competing against Thomas Massie for Kentucky’s fourth congressional district, in a primary election on Tuesday.“There’s few folks busier than him,” said Gallrein while introducing him. “And you’re having the secretary of war, to little old Kentucky, to see you today.”The Pentagon has been pushing back on allegations that Hegseth is using taxpayer money to make the visit and support Gallrein.“Secretary Hegseth is attending this event in his personal capacity,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. “No taxpayer dollars will be used to facilitate his visit. His participation has been thoroughly vetted and cleared by lawyers, including the Department of War Office of General Counsel, and does not violate the Hatch Act or any other applicable federal statute.”“I have to say for the lawyers that I am here in a private capacity,” said Hegseth at the start of his speech. “As a fellow citizen, a fellow American and a fellow combat veteran, I am here to support Navy Seals and Gallrein.”ShareUpdated at 19.43 CESTReacting to the DoJ settlement and the creation of the so-called anti-weaponization fund, Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection, issued this statement: double quotation markThis case is a clear example of why Justice Department lawyers take an oath to serve the Constitution, not the White House. This department’s leadership is intent on abusing its power to curry favor with the President and execute his retribution campaign. The ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ fits a pattern of corruption that is eroding DOJ’s integrity and Americans’ faith in the rule of law. ShareUpdated at 19.04 CEST'Corruption unparalleled': House Democrats slam deal as 'slush fund' that would give taxpayer dollars to Trump's alliesDemocrats have harshly criticized the settlement, saying it amounts to the creation of a “slush fund” for the president’s allies. Ninety-three congressional Democrats – including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries – filed an amicus brief with the court on Monday saying that such a claim “raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history”.In the brief, the lawmakers accuse the justice department of having “colluded” with Donald Trump and asking the judge to dismiss the case herself, arguing that the president is effectively “self-dealing” because he has a role on both sides of the litigation.“Never in the history of the United States has a sitting president sought a monetary settlement from the government he leads – let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds,” their lawyers wrote.“Should this lawsuit achieve Plaintiffs’ desired ends, it would result in the improper and unconstitutional transfer of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies.”“Congress has not authorized any fund, much less one involving billions of taxpayer dollars, for these purposes,” they added.In a press release, representative Jamie Raskin, the House judiciary committee’s ranking member, said: double quotation markNo president can concoct a fake case for $10 billion in damages against the government so he can be plaintiff and defendant and then ‘settle’ his bogus case against himself as a judge. ShareUpdated at 19.05 CESTAs we’ve been reporting, Donald Trump has moved to dismiss a $10bn lawsuit against the Interal Revenue Service and his administration has created a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate his allies for supposed persecution by the government.In a justice department press release announcing the move, acting attorney general Todd Blanche said, completely unironically: double quotation markThe machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again. As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress. Per my colleagues’ report, the fund will be overseen by five commissioners – four of whom would be appointed by the attorney general and removable by Trump – who would oversee the body’s work. A fifth commissioner will be appointed “in consultation” with congressional leadership. The fund also has the power to issue “formal apologies” and will send a quarterly report to the US attorney general outlining who has been paid from the fund.“Once the funds are deposited into the Designated Account, the United States has no liability whatsoever for the protection or safeguarding of those funds, regardless of bank failure, fraudulent transfers, or any other fraud or misuse of the funds,” according to a memo from Blanche.There did not appear to be any restrictions on who can seek compensation from the fund. Any money left in the fund at the end of Trump’s term would be returned to the federal government.As part of the settlement, Trump will also drop claims for monetary damages against the government for a raid on Mar-a-Lago and the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.ShareUpdated at 18.28 CESTAlso this morning, Donald Trump is back to posting about Thomas Massie, the Kentucky congressmen who has long been fighting the president’s ire.“The worst Congressman in the long and storied history of the Republican Party, is Thomas Massie,” Trump wrote earlier. “He is an obstructionist and a fool. Vote him out of office tomorrow, Tuesday.”View image in fullscreenThomas Massie, US representative from Kentucky, listens during a joint subcommittee hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in April 2025. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/APTrump also posted about Massie, one of the handful of senior Republicans who has dared to defy him and has not yet been defeated in the primaries, over an eight-hour period yesterday. Massie has voted against the Trump’s signature tax and spending cuts bill, helped to force the justice department to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and insisted on congressional oversight over the military actions in Venezuela and Iran.ShareUpdated at 20.31 CESTTrump administration establishes $1.7bn fund to compensate prosecuted allies after dismissing IRS lawsuitAn anti-weaponization fund has been created as a result of a settlement agreement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Services, a Department of Justice statement seen by the Guardian US on Monday morning revealed.The settlement directs the attorney general to issue an order to establish the funding within 60 days of the effective date.The US Department of Treasury should be provided with all the necessary forms and documentations to direct the payment of $1.7bn to the anti-weaponization fund account, said the statement. Trump claims allies were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration.ShareUpdated at 18.06 CEST

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