Mike Pence breaks with Trump over 'deeply offensive' and 'bad idea' for DOJ

Former Vice President Mike Pence broke with the Trump administration Sunday over the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, calling it a "deeply offensive" and a "bad idea" and urging the White House to abandon it entirely.

Pence made the remarks in an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, where he said he would encourage the Trump administration to drop the fund, which is designed to compensate people who claim they were unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the government — including those who attacked police officers during the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

The fund has faced mounting legal and political opposition since its creation. Courts have moved aggressively against it in recent days, with a federal judge in Florida reopening the underlying IRS case after 35 bipartisan former federal judges called the settlement a "fraud on the court," and a separate judge in Virginia issuing a temporary restraining order blocking the fund from operating while litigation proceeds.

Pence's rebuke adds a prominent Republican voice to the chorus of criticism. The former vice president, who was inside the Capitol on January 6 as the mob called for his hanging, has been among the most pointed Republican critics of efforts to rehabilitate or compensate those who participated in the attack.

The Trump administration has not responded to Pence's comments.