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

Pence says he has "certainly seen evidence" that White House is whitewashing Jan. 6 attack 12:42

Washington — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that he hopes the Trump administration will drop its new "anti-weaponization fund" that has sparked pushback on Capitol Hill and divided Republicans.

"The idea of creating a fund that could compensate people who assaulted police officers and vandalized the Capitol that day is totally unacceptable," Pence said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan ."

The $1.776 billion fund , which aims to provide taxpayer-funded payouts to people who allege the legal system has been "weaponized" against them, was established as part of a settlement of a suit by President Trump against the IRS. But the fund has divided Republicans, especially as some Trump allies, including those charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, have said they are eager to submit claims.

The fund was the topic of a heated conference meeting among Senate Republicans earlier this month, and forced GOP leaders to scrap plans to fund immigration enforcement. On Sunday, Pence said he's been "heartened by the number of Republicans in the Senate who have spoken out against it."

"My hope is the administration will drop it, drop the idea entirely," he said.

The former vice president was a target of the rioters at the Capitol as he was set to certify President Joe Biden 's victory after Congress counted the electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021. He said Sunday that "people that assaulted police officers on Jan. 6, and vandalized our Capitol should not get one dime of taxpayer money from that fund or anywhere else."

Senate Republicans have sought answers on how the fund will operate and who might receive payments from it, along with possible guardrails to prevent people who assaulted law enforcement from being compensated.