WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Justice announced the creation of an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" valued at $1.8 billion to compensate individuals it said were unfairly investigated under previous presidents. The fund was established as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service after his tax records were disclosed.

Department officials said the fund would have a total of $1.776 billion available to settle and pay cases, governed by a five-member commission that can vet and pay claims. Trump dropped the suit in exchange for an apology and the fund. Because Congress controls how the Department of Justice spends taxpayer money, the settlement requires legislative cooperation to be funded.

Republican members of Congress declined to pass government-funding legislation on Thursday because of disagreements over the initiative. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche traveled to Capitol Hill that day to try to ease Republican senators' concerns but was unsuccessful. Senate Majority Leader John Thune canceled the vote on the government-funding bill.

Among the claimants are people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to Department of Justice figures, nearly 1,600 people were charged with crimes associated with the riot, including about 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Roughly 140 officers were injured during the riot. Trump issued a blanket pardon for defendants involved in the riot on his first day back in office, including individuals who had pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers.

North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the compensation fund "stupid on stilts." "It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayer dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer, admitted their guilt, got convicted, got pardoned, and now we're going to pay them for that? That's absurd," Tillis said.

The fund also drew criticism in the House. Pennsylvania Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick plans to introduce legislation that would eliminate the fund and has sent questions to Blanche about plans for it.

Michael Caputo, a former health official, requested $2.7 million from the fund, saying the FBI had investigated him when looking into possible coordination with Russia on interference in the 2016 election. "The machinery of government was clearly politically weaponized against my family," Caputo wrote. "They found nothing; we lost everything."