What to make of the Trump administration backing down
From Consider This from NPR by NPR
June 5, 2026 · 7 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the Trump administration's decision to reverse its plans for an 'anti-weaponization' fund under pressure from Congress.
This week, the Trump administration did a seemingly uncommon thing – it reversed course under pressure. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House subcommittee this week that the Justice Department would not go forward with its plans to implement a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Fellow Republicans in Congress who saw it as funneling federal money to the president’s supporters – possibly including Jan. 6 rioters – held up other legislation in protest. For a president who claims broad authority over nearly everything, what can we make of his administration backing down? The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum, a historian of modern authoritarianism, weighs in. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for C onsider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org . Email us at considerthis@npr.org . This episode was produced by Linah Mohammad, Alejandra Marquez Janse and Karen Zamora. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
People in this episode
Guest: Anne Applebaum
Topics covered
- Trump administration
- political pressure
- government funding
- Republican response
- authoritarianism
Keywords
- Trump administration
- Todd Blanche
- Justice Department
- anti-weaponization fund
- Republicans
- Anne Applebaum
- political pressure
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Trump administration, Justice Department, The Atlantic
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