Some Republicans say Trump should close the door on paying out Jan. 6 rioters

Capitol riotSome Republicans say Trump should close the door on paying out Jan. 6 riotersDemocrats and some Republicans were critical of the president’s defense of his “anti-weaponization” fund on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” Others believe the idea is dead.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00President Donald Trump has not ruled out giving taxpayer funds to rioters who fought against police officers on Jan. 6, 2021.Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images FileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 8, 2026, 8:22 PM EDTBy Scott Wong, Julie Tsirkin and Brennan LeachWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump drew sharp rebukes from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill after he left the door open to taxpayer payouts for rioters who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6 attack in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” this weekend.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Trump’s planned “anti-weaponization” fund, which currently appears to be on pause amid bipartisan backlash, “should be for people who have had their constitutional rights violated, not who violated other peoples’ constitutional rights,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Monday. “If you’ve been convicted of assault on a cop … doesn’t seem to me like people who are victims.”Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee, told NBC News he plans to introduce legislation this week barring anyone convicted of offenses related to the Jan. 6 attack or interfering in recent presidential elections from receiving taxpayer-funded federal payouts related to the Capitol riot.“The attorney general claims that he is not going to go forward with a slush fund for the Jan. 6 criminals, but the president still wants to see them receive money,” Schiff said in an interview in the Capitol. “I want to make sure they can’t use some other mechanism to pay these people off, so that is the necessity of the bill.”01:39Trump says anti-weaponization fu...