Welch joins Senate Democrats in demanding investigation into Trump ‘slush’ fund

WASHINGTON (WCAX) – Vermont Sen. Peter Welch has joined with other Democrats in demanding that the Department of Justice inspector general launch an investigation into President Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”

In a letter last week, the senators say the so-called slush fund created from President Trump’s settlement with a case he brought against the IRS represents waste, fraud, and abuse of an unprecedented magnitude and must be subjected to independent scrutiny.

GOP leaders have also pushed back against the fund, saying it makes efforts to complete other priorities, including a Homeland Security spending bill, that much tougher.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a separate letter to colleagues Monday that Democrats will launch “a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door,” he wrote. “No matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote on it.”