Trump pauses controversial anti-weaponization fund after pressure from GOP lawmakers

US President Donald Trump's administration has signalled to Republican congressional leaders that it plans to back away from a controversial $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.

According to sources familiar with the discussions told CNN, uncertainty remains over whether the move is permanent, but some sources were cited saying the administration intends to drop the fund.

While others said efforts have merely been paused following a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked the programme.

The Department of Justice said on Monday it would “abide by” the court's decision, which has halted the fund until at least 12 June.

President Donald Trump also acknowledged the legal obstacle during a phone call with ABC News.

“We are subject to the courts. At this moment, that’s what it is,” Trump said, adding, “If a court doesn’t allow it, and right now a court has it held up, what can you do?”

The issue has become a source of growing tension within the Republican Party as several GOP lawmakers have criticised the fund, with some describing it as a potential vehicle for rewarding Trump's political allies.

Republican Senator Rick Scott said a White House official informed him the fund would be “dropped”.

But other Republicasn remained sceptical as Senator John Kennedy told reporters: “If the administration has changed its position on the weaponization fund, it should say so definitively, definitively.”

The fund was created as part of a settlement linked to Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the disclosure of his tax returns and continues to face both political and legal scrutiny.