Pence on Trump's weaponization fund: "My hope is the administration will drop it"

Washington — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that helium hopes the Trump medication volition driblet its caller "anti-weaponization fund" that has sparked pushback connected Capitol Hill and divided Republicans.

"The thought of creating a money that could compensate radical who assaulted constabulary officers and vandalized the Capitol that time is wholly unacceptable," Pence said connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

The $1.776 cardinal fund, which aims to supply taxpayer-funded payouts to radical who allege the ineligible strategy has been "weaponized" against them, was established arsenic portion of a colony of a suit by President Trump against the IRS. But the money has divided Republicans, particularly arsenic immoderate Trump allies, including those charged for their engagement successful the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the Capitol, person said they are anxious to taxable claims.

The money was the taxable of a heated conference gathering among Senate Republicans earlier this month, and forced GOP leaders to scrap plans to fund migration enforcement. On Sunday, Pence said he's been "heartened by the fig of Republicans successful the Senate who person spoken retired against it."

"My anticipation is the medication volition driblet it, driblet the thought entirely," helium said. 

The erstwhile vice president was a people of the rioters astatine the Capitol arsenic he was acceptable to certify President Joe Biden's triumph aft Congress counted the electoral votes connected Jan. 6, 2021. He said Sunday that "people that assaulted constabulary officers connected Jan. 6, and vandalized our Capitol should not get 1 dime of payer wealth from that money oregon anyplace else."

Senate Republicans person sought answers connected however the money volition run and who mightiness person payments from it, on with imaginable guardrails to forestall radical who assaulted instrumentality enforcement from being compensated.

Pence emphasized that the Justice Department "can settee these issues wherever radical person had their rights trampled on, and ought to bash that." He added, "I invited that colony greatly."

On Friday, a national justice temporarily barred the Justice Department from moving guardant with enactment connected the fund. The DOJ has expressed assurance successful the fund's legality amid a fistful of challenges to its implementation.

Asked astir the Jan. 6 onslaught much broadly, Pence said he's "certainly seen evidence" that the medication is achromatic washing that day, saying helium was "offended connected the day of Jan. 6 erstwhile the White House enactment retired a timeline that virtually blamed Capitol Hill constabulary for the riot that took spot that day."

"Look, I'm precise assured of the judgement of past successful the years ahead, astir our role, astir each the Republicans and Democrats who returned that time aft Capitol Police secured the Capitol, and we each did our work nether the Constitution," Pence said. "There's intelligibly been an effort by immoderate to rewrite that history, but I don't expect it'll work."