Jamie Raskin accuses Trump of attempting to fund a ‘private militia’
WASHINGTON, DC: Rep. Jamie Raskin accused President Donald Trump of attempting to fund a “private militia” through a newly proposed compensation fund tied to claims of political targeting and government “weaponization,” marking the latest escalation in Democratic rhetoric surrounding Trump’s growing influence over the Republican Party and conservative grassroots movements.
This new fund, announced by the Justice Department on Monday, is designed to compensate people who claim to have been targeted by former President Joe Biden‘s Justice Department and Democrats as victims of “weaponization and lawfare.”
Democrats intensify attacks over Trump’s expanding political movement
Democrats have slammed the move as a taxpayer-backed slush fund clearly created for a target audience: Trump’s allies.
“This is all about weaponizing the tax dollars of the American people to support Donald Trump’s private militia,” Raskin said while discussing the proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which Democrats have attacked as a political slush fund for Trump supporters.
Raskin: "This is about funding, or pre-funding, Donald Trump's private militia" pic.twitter.com/TKGljWO3Xq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026
MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow asked Raskin on Monday night, “Is there anything else like this in US history?”
“Nothing like it,” he said.
“It’s thoroughly illegal and unconstitutional. Of course, Congress never voted to set up a $1.776 billion political slush fund for the president, and we never would pass such a thing. So it’s a complete violation of Congressional appropriations powers.”
The 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' is part of a settlement Trump and the Justice Department reached, with Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for his leaked tax returns.
The fund emerged as part of broader legal and political disputes tied to Trump’s lawsuits against federal agencies over the release of his tax returns and claims that government institutions were used against him and his allies during previous investigations.
Jamie Raskin’s remarks portray increasingly aggressive Democratic rhetoric
Raskin called Trump’s entire administration “corruption, highway robbery every day,” slamming The Board of Peace for which Trump is “chairman for life” with “unchecked financial control.”
He also blasted the new 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' as an “outrageous expropriation of the tax dollars of the people for political purposes to give to Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, rioters and insurrectionists, the people who beat up police officers'” before adding, “It’s about funding or pre-funding Donald Trump’s private militia.”
Raskin’s remarks reflect a broader pattern of increasingly aggressive Democratic rhetoric aimed at portraying Trump’s political network and grassroots support base as dangerous or authoritarian.
The clash also occurs during a time of increased political tensions about Trump’s foreign policy decisions.
This includes debates over Iran, executive power, and expanded White House projects like the proposed ballroom renovation.
In recent months, Democrats and anti-Trump commentators have often accused the administration of consolidating power. Meanwhile, Trump’s allies argue that these attacks are meant to weaken the president’s political momentum.
“That is for actual judgments, verdicts, damages levied by a court against the United States or an honest, good-faith settlement of claims that would have won in court,” Raskin told Maddow of the “judgment fund” as he continued.
“And of course, like everything else, we’ve never had a problem with this up until Donald Trump, because he sees a pot of money and the dollar signs go off in his eyes, and he sees it as a political slush fund.”
Trump supporters have increasingly pushed back against comparisons between conservative political activism and militia movements, arguing Democrats are attempting to stigmatize grassroots Republican energy ahead of the 2026 elections.
The increasingly heated rhetoric on both sides underscores how Trump’s continued dominance within Republican politics remains one of the defining forces shaping Washington’s political battles heading deeper into his second term.
