Democrats sparred with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a heated hearing over the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion government weaponization compensation fund, with critics accusing the Trump administration of corruption and Blanche insisting the program is legitimate. Sen. Patty Murray condemned the fund as “nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting from the Treasury for his own gain,” while Sen. Jack Reed called it “a travesty of the law” and questioned whether President Donald Trump would influence the commissioners overseeing payouts. Blanche repeatedly pushed back against accusations the fund was politically motivated, arguing it was not a “slush fund” and saying similar compensation programs have existed before.