Understanding Trump's new "Anti-Weaponization Fund"

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: Understanding Trump’s New "Anti-Weaponization Fund"

Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Reporters: Samantha Fields, Nova Safo, Alice Wilder
Episode Theme:
This episode delivers concise updates on key economic and policy stories, with a spotlight on the creation of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a legal settlement involving former President Trump, and what this means for government accountability, partisanship, and federal finances.

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Main Story: Trump’s "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and Treasury Upheaval

[01:01 - 02:28]

• Overview:
  President Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS after reaching a controversial settlement: the creation of a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

  • Key Figure: Brian Morrissey, Treasury’s general counsel appointed by Trump, resigned following the settlement.

• Purpose of the Fund:

  • Intended to compensate individuals "investigated or targeted for political, personal or ideological reasons."
  • Marketplace’s Samantha Fields:

    "The president and his family will not receive money from it, and the Justice Department says there are no partisan requirements to file a claim." ([01:39])

  • Critics argue the fund may largely benefit Trump’s allies claiming unjust government scrutiny.

• Potential Impact:

  • Lawyers for January 6th defendants are already preparing claims.
  • The fund pulls from the existing Judgment Fund, which usually covers settlements against the government.
  • Anticipated to be a hot topic at Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s Congressional budget testimony later in the day.

• Key Quote:

  "Critics say it will largely be used to compensate the president’s allies and supporters who believe they’ve been unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the government." – Samantha Fields ([01:56])

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Housing Market Update: Signs of Recovery Amid High Rates

[02:28 - 04:18]

• Market Snapshot:
  Housing recovery remains sluggish, despite brief optimism.

  • Mortgage Rates: Dipped in April but remained above the critical “magic number” of 6%.

    "For a while now, we've heard from analysts that 6% is the magic number for mortgage rates. Fall below that threshold and they would begin to unlock the real estate market." – Nova Safo ([02:48])

• Pending Home Sales Jump:

  • According to Redfin, pending home sales spiked by 9.5% in April—the biggest jump in three years.

    "People have adjusted to these higher rates or accepted the reality of them." – Darryl Fairweather, Redfin’s Chief Economist ([03:12])

  • Pent-up demand persists; minor changes in affordability have an outsized impact on buyer interest.

• Inventory Challenge:

  • Lawrence Yoon (National Association of Realtors): More homes are needed to fully revive the market.

    "If we can have inventory growth of 30%, 40%, definitely it gives consumers more choices and would bring inventories to pre-pandemic levels.” – Lawrence Yoon ([03:36])

  • Most mortgage holders pay below 4%, making them reluctant to sell.

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Campus Edition: The Problem of College Move-Out Waste

[05:42 - 08:43]

• Annual Waste Surge:
  Colleges across the U.S. see a spike in discarded items during student move-out.

  • Example: Duke University’s dumpsters fill with household goods and clothes every May.

• First-Hand Account:

  • Reporter Alice Wilder joins local dumpster diver Ben Krase as he salvages discarded goods.

    "Oh, my God. This is like a full container of honey from Wegmans." – Alice Wilder ([06:52])

• National Perspective:

  • Alex Fried, Atlas Zero Waste, notes move-out produces 4x normal waste.

    "If the only solution is a dumpster, everything is going to look like trash." – Alex Fried ([07:32])

  • Waste reduction programs include immediate giveaways, nonprofit donations, and “yard sales” where students can buy back donated items.

• Local Solutions at Duke:

  • Programs range from donation bins to pop-up thrift stores, but the problem isn’t fully solved.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Anti-Weaponization Fund:

  "A lawyer for hundreds of January 6th defendants has already said his clients will be looking for payments." – Samantha Fields ([01:51])

• On Housing Market Realities:

  "There is pent up demand. People do wanna buy homes, and as it gets slightly more favorable for them to buy, those slight differences do make a difference." – Darryl Fairweather ([03:20])

• On Student Waste:

  "The language we've often used to describe this moment is, if the only solution is a dumpster, everything is going to look like trash." – Alex Fried ([07:32])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:01] – Introduction to the Trump IRS lawsuit settlement and Anti-Weaponization Fund
• [01:39] – Samantha Fields’ report on the new fund’s implications
• [02:28] – Upcoming housing data preview and mid-year market status
• [02:48] – Mortgage rates & pending sales discussion with Redfin’s chief economist
• [03:36] – Inventory analysis from Lawrence Yoon
• [05:42] – College move-out waste problem introduced by Alice Wilder
• [06:18] – Dumpster diving at Duke University
• [07:32] – Systemic campus solutions explained
• [08:18] – Overview of Duke’s waste diversion programs

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Takeaway

This episode parses out the political and logistical complexities of Trump’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund and its impact on government settlements, provides a nuanced update on the recovering but supply-starved housing market, and shines a quirky, enlightening light on campus waste issues and grassroots solutions at the end of the academic year.

Transcript

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. America is an idea, but progress isn't guaranteed. Today, those founding principles are being challenged by efforts to mix religion and government. The Freedom From Religion foundation is working to protect the Constitution and keep power where it belongs, with we the people. Visit FFRF US America or text America to 511-511, text America to 511-511 and keep state and church separate. Text fees may apply.

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[Alice Wilder]

a

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

pulse check for the Housing Market From Marketplace, I'm Nancy Marshall Genser in Washington. First, the top lawyer for the Treasury Department resigned yesterday just after the government settled President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Trump appointed the lawyer, Brian Morrissey, as Treasury's general counsel Last year. The president dropped his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax in exchange for the creation of a new fund that will compensate people who have been, quote, investigated or targeted for political, personal or ideological reasons. Marketplace's Samantha Fields has more.

[Samantha Fields]

This new $1.8 billion fund is highly controversial. The president and his family will not receive money from it, and the Justice Department says there are no partisan requirements to file a claim. But critics say it will largely be used to compensate the president's allies and supporters who believe they've been unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the government. A lawyer for hundreds of January 6th defendants has already said his clients will be looking for payments. The nearly $1.8 billion for this new fund will come from an existing unlimited pot of money called the Judgment Fund, which pays out settlements and lawsuits against the government. The anti weaponization fund is likely to be a big topic later today when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies on Capitol Hill about the Justice Department's budget. I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

The national association of Realtors is scheduled to release its April tally of pending home sales later this morning. So far this year, the housing market recovery that some people had been predicting has failed to materialize. The market's been lackluster, but there are some signs of improvement. Marketplace's NovaSafo takes a look.

[Nova Safo]

For a while now, we've heard from analysts that 6% is the magic number for mortgage rates. Fall below that threshold and they would begin to unlock the real estate market. Well, in April, rates dipped just a tenth of a percentage point or so, but stayed above 6%. And yet Redfin's measure of pending home sales rose 9.5%, the biggest jump in more than three years.

[Darryl Fairweather]

People have adjusted to these higher rates or accepted the reality of them.

[Nova Safo]

Darryl Fairweather is chief economist at Redfin.

[Darryl Fairweather]

There is pent up demand. People do wanna buy homes, and as it gets slightly more favorable for them to buy, those slight differences do make a difference.

[Nova Safo]

What would also make a difference is more homes for sale, says Lawrence Yoon of the national association of Realtors.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

If we can have inventory growth of

[Lawrence Yoon]

30%, 40%, definitely it gives consumers more

[Nova Safo]

choices and would bring inventories to pre pandemic levels, he says. For now, a majority of mortgage holders Pay rates below 4%, so sellers are staying on the sidelines even as buyers trickle back in. I'm Nova Safo for Marketplace.

[Lawrence Yoon]

Storms, floods and fires are ever more extreme, and yet the Federal Emergency Management Agency is fighting for its life.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

I've never been a big fan of FEMA.

[Nova Safo]

FEMA is a disaster.

[Lawrence Yoon]

FEMA's a dirty word.

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[Nancy Marshall Genser]

if there's a college student in your life, you know the chaos of the end of semester Move out. There are final exams, job applications, and graduation parties from any pig. Ditching shower caddies and mini fridges into a dumpster is just easier than taking them home or to the thrift store. Which leaves environmentally conscious colleges with a how to divert all this dorm discard from landfills. Marketplace's Alice Wilder has more.

[Alice Wilder]

Every May in Durham, North Carolina, Duke University's dumpsters are filled with trash, and dumpster divers like Ben Krase start picking through it. This year, I joined him.

[Darryl Fairweather]

I don't know if you need a mini fridge or dorm sized microwave, but we're liable to find some.

[Alice Wilder]

Price is in his 50s and used to work as a pastor. These days, he makes money selling forged finds on ebay. He gave me a quick tutorial before we hit the dumpsters.

[Darryl Fairweather]

So we're going to kind of casually walk up to a dumpster and we're going to peek in and hopefully there will be things near the top that we can just discreetly grab.

[Alice Wilder]

We had a backup plan in case campus police caught on.

[Darryl Fairweather]

We could say, I'm helping my kid move out. She thinks she threw away her retainer.

[Alice Wilder]

Now it was time to hit the dumpsters. We found mostly household items. Oh, my God. This is like a full container of honey from Wegmans.

[Lawrence Yoon]

A lot of coat hangers.

[Alice Wilder]

With some digging, we found good as new clothing from brands like Michael Kors and Lululemon. Oh, nice. And six copies of Percival Everett's Pulitzer Prize winning novel James. It was Duke's summer reading assignment. This kind of waste happens on campuses across the country.

[Darryl Fairweather]

Students are very busy in the end of their move out period.

[Alice Wilder]

That's Alex fried, director of Atlas Zero Waste. It's an organization that works with 65 campuses in the US and Canada. He says that during move out, schools produce four times more waste than they do in a typical month.

[Darryl Fairweather]

The language we've often used to describe this moment is, if the only solution is a dumpster, everything is going to look like trash.

[Alice Wilder]

The schools he works with divert waste in a few ways.

[Darryl Fairweather]

One is they collect stuff and they sort of immediately give it away.

[Alice Wilder]

Imagine a quad filled with mini fridges, rugs, and coat hangers. No cover story needed.

[Darryl Fairweather]

The second type is a connection with a nonprofit or a series of nonprofits.

[Alice Wilder]

Duke has a program like this. They donate to thrift stores in the area. In 2025, they donated 29 tons of stuff.

[Darryl Fairweather]

The third type of program is a yard sale.

[Alice Wilder]

Students donate items at the end of the year. They're stored over the summer, and then at the beginning of the next year,

[Darryl Fairweather]

students are able to purchase back at a very discounted price items that are available for reuse that were left behind by students from the previous year.

[Alice Wilder]

A representative for Duke's Office of Climate and Sustainability told me that they have a number of programs aimed at reducing move out waste from donation bins and dorms to a free pop up campus thrift store. But the problem of end of semester waste is complex and dumpsters are still full. So for now, townies like Ben Crace and me soar through the trash. Do you have hand sanitizer? In the car. In Durham, North Carolina, I'm Alice Wilder for Marketplace.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

Our producers are Emma Condon, Tamara Fagan, Ashley Rodriguez, Arianna Rosas and Erica Soderstrom. Our senior producer is Alex Schroeder. Our supervising senior producer is Meredith Garretson Warby. In Washington, I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer with the Marketplace Morning Report from APM American Public Media. Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder. At least half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime. In a new series of special reports from Call to Mind, we hear about the mental health impact of stress, climate change, immigration and more. Tune in for conversations with people managing hardship and experts seeking solutions. Listen to Call to Mind from American Public Media.