Kennedy rejects Trump’s Jan. 6 payout fund, faces GOP backlash

John Kennedy said he would not give Donald Trump a “blank check” for a proposed “anti-weaponization” fund that could reach Jan. 6 defendants, sharpening a Republican dispute over whether people convicted in the Capitol attack belong in any compensation pool.

The Louisiana Republican made the break on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, after Trump did not rule out payouts from the fund to Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police during the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The exchange turned a narrow budget fight into a broader test of who Republicans are willing to describe as a victim of government “weaponization.”

Kennedy had already moved to block that possibility in the Senate. He introduced S.3582, the No Rewards for January 6 Rioters Act, in the 119th Congress, and the measure was read twice and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill underscored the fight over whether any government settlement or compensation pool should be available to people convicted in connection with the Capitol attack.

The fund at the center of the dispute had been described as about $1.8 billion, or $1.776 billion, and tied to a Justice Department and IRS settlement. Trump administration officials later said the Justice Department would stop pursuing the fund after the backlash intensified, but the fight had already opened a deeper rift inside the party.

Democrats and some Republicans criticized the idea of using taxpayer money for Jan. 6 rioters, especially those convicted of assaulting police officers. Some Republicans said Trump should close the door on any payout to those defendants, while others said the fund idea was effectively dead. The split showed how quickly grievance politics can fray when the list of supposed victims starts to include people convicted of attacking the Capitol police line.