A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund on Thursday, halting a program that the White House established to provide relief to individuals the administration argues were targeted by politically motivated prosecutions and government actions.

The fund, announced earlier this year, was positioned by the Trump administration as a remedy for those it claimed had been unfairly pursued by federal and state prosecutors in recent years. Supporters argued the program was necessary to address what they described as systematic abuse of the justice system against political allies and ordinary citizens.

The temporary restraining order, issued by a federal judge, pauses disbursement of the funds while the court considers legal challenges to the program. Plaintiffs challenging the fund have raised questions about its constitutional basis, the process by which recipients would be selected, and whether the executive branch has the authority to establish such a compensation mechanism without specific congressional authorization.

The administration has defended the fund as a legitimate use of executive authority, and the White House is expected to appeal or contest the temporary block. The legal fight is likely to continue in coming weeks as the court sets a schedule for further proceedings.

Proponents of the fund have highlighted individual cases they say demonstrate the need for such a program, pointing to people whose lives were upended by investigations and prosecutions they consider politically driven. Critics have raised concerns about oversight and the potential for the fund to become a political tool rather than a neutral mechanism for genuine victims of prosecutorial misconduct.