Acting AG Todd Blanche Faces Congress Today After Trump’s $1.8 Billion IRS Settlement

BreakingBusinessActing AG Todd Blanche Faces Congress Today After Trump’s $1.8 Billion IRS SettlementByAlison Durkee,Forbes Staff. Alison is a senior news reporter covering US politics and legal news.Follow AuthorMay 19, 2026, 09:28am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineActing Attorney General Todd Blanche will face Congress on Tuesday as he testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where he’s likely to face heated questioning about the Justice Department’s decision to settle President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS by opening a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to help Jan. 6 rioters and other Trump allies.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche conducts a news conference at the Department of Justice on April 27.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesKey FactsBlanche is testifying Tuesday in front of the Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT.The hearing marks Blanche’s first time testifying to Congress as acting attorney general, after he replaced former AG Pam Bondi in April.While the hearing is focused on the DOJ’s 2027 budget proposal, Blanche is likely to be questioned about the settlement fund, in which the Trump administration committed $1.776 billion toward helping “victims of lawfare and weaponization,” and will be run by a five-person committee made up of people appointed by the attorney general.The settlement fund has already drawn widespread outrage from Democratic lawmakers, with Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., saying Tuesday it is “a heist and a disgrace.”Blanche, who previously worked as Trump’s personal attorney before joining the DOJ, has also come under fire for playing a role in establishing and overseeing the fund, with Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee opening a probe Tuesday into whether the acting AG had been advis...