US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Order blocks White House from ‘taking any further action’ on settlement fund until further legal arguments heard

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A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked any payouts from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump’s https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/newsom-tax-trump-fund">controversial new $1.8bn so-called anti-weaponization https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/18/trump-dismiss-10-billion-dollar-irs-lawsuit">settlement fund that emerged from a settlement the US president came to with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The order by US district judge Leonie Brinkema of the eastern district of Virginia blocks the https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/trump-administration">Trump administration from “taking any further action” to set up or operate the fund while the judge hears additional legal arguments.