Mike Pence Breaks With Trump Over Jan. 6 Compensation Fund

Former Vice President Mike Pence is once again publicly distancing himself from President Donald Trump, this time over whether Jan. 6 defendants who assaulted police officers should ever receive taxpayer-backed compensation.

Speaking with Axios while discussing his upcoming book, What Conservatives Believe, Pence called Jan. 6 a “tragic day” and said he remains firmly opposed to rewarding anyone who engaged in violence at the Capitol.

“I didn’t agree with the President when he pardoned people who engaged in violence against law enforcement officials,” Pence said.

“And it would be my hope that anyone who engaged in violence against law enforcement or at the Capitol building would never be rewarded with taxpayers’ money.”

Pence’s comments came after Trump agreed Monday to settle his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.8 billion taxpayer-backed compensation fund for Americans who say they were victims of government “weaponization.”

The agreement’s broad language has already sparked questions about who may qualify for compensation, including whether some Jan. 6 defendants could be eligible.

President Trump has long defended many Jan. 6 participants, describing them as “patriots” and “hostages,” while critics have argued that many defendants engaged in violence, attacked law enforcement, and disrupted the certification of the 2020 election.

After returning to office, Trump issued pardons and commutations to hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants, a move that drew strong criticism from Pence and other Republicans who continue to draw a line between peaceful protesters and those who committed violence.

Pence’s relationship with Trump fractured after Jan. 6, when Trump and his allies urged Pence to delay or block certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Pence refused, insisting that he had no constitutional authority to overturn the results.

That decision made him a target of anger from many Trump supporters and pushed him to the margins of the Republican base for a time. Even now, Pence appears unwilling to soften his position on the Capitol riot.

Calling Jan. 6 a “tragic day,” Pence argued that the GOP must eventually return to traditional conservative principles rather than politics driven by personality or grievance.

“I think the overwhelming majority of people that have ever voted for Republican candidates … still believe in a strong national defense, still believe in fiscal responsibility, still believe in traditional values,” Pence said.

“And so my hope is that, as time goes on, people are going to return to those time-honored principles.”

His latest comments highlight one of the Republican Party’s deepest internal divides. Trump’s populist wing views many Jan. 6 prosecutions as part of a broader campaign of political targeting by federal institutions. Pence, by contrast, continues to argue that peaceful protesters should not be grouped together with those who assaulted police officers or entered the Capitol unlawfully.

Axios reported that the issue remains one of the sharpest fault lines inside the GOP.

Pence has repeatedly defended his conduct on Jan. 6, saying he upheld the Constitution by refusing to interfere with the electoral certification process.

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to argue that the 2020 election was tainted and that federal institutions unfairly targeted his supporters.

Now, Pence is making clear that whatever his concerns about government overreach, he does not believe taxpayer money should go to people who engaged in violence against law enforcement.

The newly announced “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is designed to compensate Americans who claim they were harmed by politically motivated government action.

According to the Department of Justice, the fund “will have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants. Submission of a claim is voluntary. There are no partisan requirements to file a claim. Any money left when the Fund ceases operations will revert to the Federal Government.”

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the fund as a corrective measure against government abuse.

“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”

For conservatives, the debate now turns on a difficult distinction: how to defend Americans against weaponized government power without rewarding those who crossed the line into violence.

Pence has made his answer clear. He believes the government should never target citizens for politics, but taxpayers should not be forced to compensate anyone who attacked police or participated in violence at the Capitol.