Rep. Suozzi calls on Republicans to ‘stand up’ to stop ‘anti-weaponization fund’

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi, the bipartisan co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, called on Sunday for Congress to block the implementation of the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund.”

“The issue here, Jonathan, is a statute that basically bypasses Congress,” Fitzpatrick told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “Congress appropriates money. The executive branch does not have a dime of money in its own level. Every dollar that goes to the executive branch emanates from Article I, emanates from Congress through the appropriations process we are in now.”

Fitzpatrick, a Republican, and Democrat Suozzi introduced a bill that would prevent the fund from disbursing any payments.

The Justice Department announced the creation of the $1.8 billion fund that could pay settlements to those claiming “victimization” by the government, a group that could include rioters from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Bipartisan backlash to the fund’s announcement has grown since its announcement.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Republican senators at the Capitol on Thursday to try to quell the backlash over the “anti-weaponization fund,” but sources told ABC News that the meeting was tense, with some allies to President Donald Trump speaking out against it and one telling Blanche, “You created this s— sandwich, you got to figure it out.”

Suozzi said Sunday that Republicans should join Democrats in exercising the power of Congress to block taxpayer money from being paid out by the fund.

“It’s really up to the Republicans to join with the Democrats. Everybody knows this is wrong,” Suozzi said. “That’s the purpose of the checks and balances in government, so that one branch of government does something stupid or wrong, the other branch holds them accountable.” 

Suozzi had harsh words for the idea that payments could go to Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted for assaulting police officers.

Asked by CNN about the possibility of those people receiving payments from the fund on Wednesday, Blance replied, “People that hurt police get money all the time.” But Blanche then added it would be “abhorrent to ever, ever touch a law enforcement officer” and said it as “a completely different question with whether an individual is allowed to apply for a claim” and “whether they’ll get a claim.”

He said the day before in a Senate committee hearing that while Jan. 6 rioters could apply for money, there was no guarantee they would receive a payment.

“There’s one story that I like to tell over and over again, the cop being beat up on January 6, people saying, “Kill him, kill him, and this guy comes up, Daniel Rodriguez, he sticks a taser in his neck and tases the police officer. The police officer has a heart attack and now has brain damage from that,” Suozzi said. “He ended up getting a 12-year sentence. The president pardoned him. Now they want to give him money. It’s crazy.”

Republicans who have defied the president have faced consequences. GOP incumbents who have opposed the president have lost their primaries to Trump-backed challengers, including Rep. Thomas Massie in Kentucky and Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana in the past week.

When asked by Karl if he worried about the president coming after him for his push against the fund, Fitzpatrick said he was not.

“I don’t worry about any outside criticism. Everybody’s got a job to do. Everybody’s right and free to speak their mind,” Fitzpatrick said. “My job is to represent the people that sent me here, and I’m going to do that.”

Suozzi praised Fitzpatrick’s willingness to oppose the president on some issues.

“Brian has demonstrated this before. He signed other discharge petitions and other Republicans have joined him on different issues, especially over the past few weeks,” Suozzi said. “We need our Republican colleagues … to stand up and say this is right and that is wrong, and we need to work together to make our country a better place, and focus on the things that people care about.”