“It’s incredibly strange, very unusual, probably unprecedented,” Kiley said. “It is, you know, setting up a system for unilaterally making private payouts of taxpayer dollars with no discernible public benefit.”

Kiley sided with all Democrats during the House Judiciary Committee vote to subpoena several Trump officials who helped set up the account, including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The vote failed 18-17.

Bacon told the Washington Examiner that while he did not know the legal or legislative recourse regarding the fund, he would welcome the option for Congress to look into it.

“It’s the president negotiating with himself over taxpayer money because he’s in charge of the defendants,” Bacon said. “But he’s the plaintiff, so he needs an arbitrator or something, or a neutral judge or something that looks impartial.”

The Justice Department announced the fund on Monday as part of a settlement agreement with President Donald Trump over his lawsuit against the IRS. In exchange for dropping the suit, the DOJ agreed to establish the fund to compensate victims of federal “weaponization and lawfare.”

Compensation will be paid out by the DOJ’s judgment fund, which is appropriated by Congress to settle cases. Claims will not be processed after December 2028, one month before the end of Trump’s second administration.

Neither Trump nor members of his family would seek payouts from the program, according to the White House.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who lost his primary race over the weekend to his Trump-backed opponent, said in a statement on X that if there needs to be a settlement, the Trump administration “should bring it to Congress to decide.”

“People are concerned about paying their mortgage or rent, affording groceries and paying for gas, not about putting together a $1.8 billion fund for the President and his allies to pay whomever they wish with no legal precedent or accountability,” Cassidy posted. “This is adding to our national debt.”

Kiley also criticized the move from the Trump administration as taking both the judicial and legislative branches out of the equation entirely by creating the fund without consulting either.

“It’s another example of how you know Congress needs to protect its constitutional authority,” Kiley said.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) sent a letter to Blanche on Wednesday requesting more information about the fund by June 1, including whether those guilty of violent crimes are eligible and examples of prior administrations establishing similar funds.

Fitzpatrick told reporters that he wanted to identify where the funds are coming from to see what options and jurisdiction Congress has over the account. The Pennsylvania Republican told media outlet MeidasTouch earlier on Wednesday that he was going to try to “kill” the fund, calling it “bad news.”

Law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to halt the plan, arguing the fund would be used to compensate the individuals who organized and participated in the riot.

GOP WEIGHS DITCHING WHITE HOUSE SECURITY FUNDING OVER BALLROOM

The lawsuit, filed by former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges, advocates the dissolution of the fund, saying it would “directly finance the violent operations of rioters, paramilitaries, and their supporters who threatened Plaintiffs’ lives that day, and continue to do so.”

Dunn is running for the Democratic nomination to represent Maryland’s 5th Congressional District.

Lauren Green and Naomi Lim contributed to this report.