President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum on January 21, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a fund that opponents fear will be used to pay off the president’s political allies.
Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia issued one tiny order The Justice Department, Treasury Department and other senior administration officials are prevented from taking further action to establish the fund or make payments from it.
The order came as part of a lawsuit brought by a former federal prosecutor and a California professor. The plaintiffs are represented by legal representation groups Democracy Forward and Common Cause. The lawsuit is part of a series of legal challenges against the fund.
The Justice Department announced an amount of nearly $1.8 billion on May 18 “Anti-gun fund” This will make payments to people who believe they have been wronged by previous governments. The fund was part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a former IRS contractor’s disclosure of his tax return information.
Trump’s settlement agreement calls for the fund to be established under the supervision of a five-member panel selected by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney. Trump can fire members for any reason.
Brinkema, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, did not comment on the legality of the fund in her order. She wrote that her order is to ensure that no money is “irrevocably paid out” while the plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction is pending.
She has also scheduled a hearing for June 12 – likely to ensure the fund remains frozen for at least the next two weeks.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor on Jan. 6 who was fired by the DOJ in June 2025, and Joseph Caravello, a California university professor who was charged with aggravated assault against a federal officer after protesting an immigration raid last summer. A jury acquitted Caravello in April.
The Nine point complaint alleges, in part, that the Fund violates plaintiffs’ First and Fifth Amendment rights and violates the authority of Congress.
“Since its inception, this fund has been on a collision course with the Constitution of the United States,” their complaint states.
Trump has written on social media that the fund will lend a hand those “who have been so badly mistreated by an evil, corrupt and armed Biden administration” seek justice.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
