GOP senators press Blanche on "anti-weaponization fund" in tense meeting

Politics GOP senators press Blanche on "anti-weaponization fund" in tense meeting By Nikole Killion, Nikole Killion Congressional Correspondent Nikole Killion is a CBS News congressional correspondent based in Washington D.C., who has covered some of the biggest stories on Capitol Hill since 2021. Killion has also served a key role in CBS News' election coverage during the 2024 and 2020 presidential races covering the Trump, Biden, and Harris campaigns. Read Full Bio Nikole Killion, Caitlin Huey-Burns, Caitlin Huey-Burns Congressional Correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns is a congressional correspondent for CBS News and a fill-in anchor for the CBS News 24/7 politics show "America Decides." Read Full Bio Caitlin Huey-Burns, Kaia Hubbard, Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard, Alan He, Ibrahim Aksoy Ibrahim Aksoy News Associate Ibrahim Aksoy is a news associate for "CBS Mornings" based in Washington, D.C. He covers global news, U.S. politics and foreign policy. Before joining CBS News, he contributed to The Washington Post and the Middle East Institute. Read Full Bio Ibrahim Aksoy May 21, 2026 / 11:31 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Some Republican senators openly expressed their concerns about the Justice Department's new "anti-weaponization fund" in a tense meeting Thursday with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. "You could call it a curveball right at the end, and nobody could hit it," Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville told reporters after the meeting, in reference to the compensation fund. Sources inside the meeting say Blanche did not provide adequate answers or clarity about the $1.776 billion Justice Department fund announced earlier this week, which will provide taxpayer-funded payouts to people who allege the legal system has been "weaponized" against them. It's part of an agreement between President Trump and the federal government to settle...