Congress must put guardrails on Trump’s vanity projects and spending

When President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service in January, some experts raised their eyebrows. The skepticism arose not only from the fact that a sitting president was suing the government he also leads, but also from the fact that it was Trump who was filing the lawsuit.

The apparent motive behind the plan became clear last month when Trump dropped the lawsuit but an extraordinary deal was announced instead: a $1.776 billion “anti-arms fund” to compensate Americans who felt unfairly prosecuted under previous administrations.

After much backlash from Democrats and even some Republicans, Trump’s Justice Department said Monday it would comply with a judge’s order to suspend the fund.

Who, by chance, could have benefited from such a fund? One of the many allies and advisors of President Trump who have been convicted or indicted for crimes against the government, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Advisor Steve Bannon, former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn or former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, among others. Even the Trump Organization, convicted of tax fraud in 2022 and banned from doing business in New York, could have been eligible for a payment from the fund.

Additionally, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to exempt the hundreds of insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on January 6 and who were pardoned by Trump from receiving funds. The idea of ​​potentially paying hundreds of people who beat and pepper-sprayed Capitol Police officers and ransacked the building should offend everyone who claims to value law, order and democracy.

To rub even more salt into Americans’ wounds, Blanche, who previously served as one of Trump’s personal attorneys, filed an addendum to the settlement permanently barring the IRS from auditing Trump’s past tax returns — which the president never shared with the public as promised — and previous returns filed by his sons and his business. And there would be a secret commission of five people that would decide who gets the funds. The identity of the recipients of public money would also be hidden from the public.

Fortunately, a federal judge intervened, at the request of 35 former federal judges, to temporarily suspend any payment of money under this program.

Congress must nevertheless regain control of public funds. Even if Trump abandons his proposed anti-armament fund this week, Congress must now prevent him from reviving it after the midterm elections.

“What we’re talking about is nothing less than the sitting president of the United States plundering the Treasury for his own gain,” U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing before Monday’s announcement that Trump was withdrawing from the fund.

While lawmakers have supported or looked the other way when it comes to Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom, the no-bid $13 million Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool project, the 250-foot triumphal arch project and Trump’s addition to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a few Republican lawmakers have signaled that the slush fund project could be the straw that broke the camel’s back. As the midterm elections approach and the president’s popularity wanes, we hope that more lawmakers will develop courage, listen to their constituents, and realize that there is indeed a limit to the government corruption they can tolerate — and Trump has reached it.

The Seattle Times Editorial Board: Members are Kate Riley, Editorial Page Editor, Ryan Blethen, Melissa Davis, Josh Farley, Alex Fryer, Claudia Rowe, Carlton Winfrey, Frank A. Blethen (emeritus), and William K. Blethen (emeritus).

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