President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum on January 21, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the fund, which opponents fear will be used to pay off the president’s political allies.
Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia issued the ruling brief order Preventing the Department of Justice, the Treasury, and other high-level officials from taking additional action to create or make contributions from the fund.
The order was issued as part of a lawsuit filed by a former federal prosecutor and a California professor. The plaintiffs are represented by the legal groups Democracy Forward and Common Cause. The lawsuit is part of a series of legal challenges against the fund.
The Justice Department announced the nearly $1.8 billion figure on May 18 “anti-gun fund” which will pay payments to people who believe they have been wronged by previous administrations. The fund was established as part of a settlement in connection with a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the leak of information about his tax returns by a former IRS contractor.
Trump’s settlement calls for the creation of a fund overseen by a five-member board selected by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer. Trump can fire members for any reason.
Brinkema, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, did not take any position on the legality of the fund in her decision. She wrote that her order is intended to ensure that no money is “irretrievably disgorged” while the plaintiffs’ request for a short-lived restraining order is resolved.
It also set a hearing for June 12, which will likely ensure the fund remains tied up for at least the next two weeks.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor in the Jan. 6 case who was fired by the Justice Department in June 2025, and Joseph Caravello, a University of California professor charged with assaulting a federal officer after he protested an immigration raid last summer. In April, a jury acquitted Caravello.
The lawsuit with nine charges maintains that the fund, in part, violates plaintiffs’ First and Fifth Amendment rights and violates Congress’s authority.
“Since its inception, this fund has been on a collision course with the United States Constitution,” their complaint says.
Trump wrote on social media that the fund would support those “who have been so exploited by the evil, corrupt and armed Biden administration” obtain justice.
Ashley Murray contributed to this report.
