They Found $1.8 Billion in 48 Hours. Now About Those Reparations.

“If America can create a $1.8 billion fund for political allies in 48 hours — it can repair 250 years of slavery.”
— Dr. Cornel West, CNN, May 18, 2026

The Trump administration just created a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” using taxpayer money to compensate political allies who claim they were unfairly investigated under the Biden administration. Dr. Cornel West had one response: if the government can create a billion-dollar fund to pay that, it can create one to pay reparations for 250 years of slavery.

• On May 18, 2026, the DOJ announced a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” — created after President Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns. The fund will compensate Trump allies who claim they were targeted by the Biden administration for “political, personal, or ideological reasons”

• The fund draws from the Congressional Judgment Fund — a pool of money that allows the DOJ to authorize monetary settlements without needing Congressional approval. That same mechanism could theoretically be used for reparations

• Dr. Cornel West appeared on CNN to make the point directly: if the U.S. government can mobilize $1.8 billion in taxpayer money for political allies virtually overnight, the argument that reparations are “too expensive” or “too complicated” collapses

• Democrats called the fund corrupt and unconstitutional — Rep. Jamie Raskin called it “a racket designed to take 1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the treasury and pour it into a huge slush fund”. Acting AG Todd Blanche — Trump’s former personal attorney — will oversee the five-member board

• The contrast couldn’t be sharper: the U.S. government voted against the UN resolution in March 2026 calling for global reparations for the transatlantic slave trade (123 nations voted yes; only the U.S., Argentina, and Israel voted no) — yet found nearly $2 billion in days for political allies.