Dems concoct 'unusual strategy' to cripple Trump's 'slush fund': 'We're taking it'

Democratic governors and lawmakers across the nation have devised an "unusual" plan to cripple President Donald Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” designed to award taxpayer-funded payouts to his supporters – including violent Jan. 6 Capitol rioters – a strategy that would deny recipients a single penny from the fund, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

“It's simple: If you're a New Yorker who takes from Trump's illegal January 6th slush fund, NY will tax 100% of it,” said Alex Bores, a New York assemblymember and Democratic Congressional candidate. “If you storm the Capitol and you take from the slush fund, too bad, we’re taking it.”

The fund was offered as a settlement to Trump in exchange for him dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a suit he filed over his tax returns leaking in 2019. At $1.8 billion, the fund was established to compensate those who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the Biden administration’s Justice Department (DOJ), including those who have been convicted of assaulting police officers on Jan. 6.

While a federal judge on Friday temporarily halted the Trump administration from doling out payments, Democrats across the nation are still mobilizing behind what the Post called the “unusual strategy” en masse.

“It’s an action we look forward to taking,” said California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who endorsed the idea to tax payouts from Trump’s fund at a rate of 100%.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul voiced support for the plan as well, telling reporters last week that she had “no problem with there being consequences for people who accept that money,” the Post reported.

The Democratic leader in the Wisconsin state Senate, Dianne Hesselbein, voiced support for the plan, the Post reported, as did Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO). Trump’s DOJ, however, had a less than favorable impression of the plan.

“Instead of flaunting their love of lawfare and taxing constituents into oblivion, blue-state governors should focus on preventing more of their residents from fleeing in droves to free states with lower taxes, less crime, and governments that actually serve the people they represent,” said Natalie Baldassarre, a DOJ spokesperson, in a statement issued to the Post.