Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a blunt response Thursday when a reporter asked about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to impose a 100% tax on Californians who receive money from President Donald Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund.
“There’s no cure for stupid,” Bessent said in video of the exchange posted to X by Nick Sortor.
🔥 Scott Bessent just dropped a NUKE on Gavin Newsom and then WALKED OUT of the room 😂
REPORTER: Newsom says he wants a 100% tax on Californians that receive money from Trump’s anti-weaponization fund. Your response?
BESSENT: “There’s no cure for STUPID” 🤣🔥
*walks out* pic.twitter.com/CNGcpkoFBF
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 28, 2026
Bessent smiled and walked away from the podium after answering the question.
Newsom Targets Fund Payments
Newsom said Wednesday that California wants to tax all proceeds state residents receive from the fund.
“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds,” Newsom said at a Wednesday news conference, Fox News reported. “We want to tax 100% of those proceeds and that’s an action the state of California can take. It’s an action we look forward to taking.”
Newsom’s office has described the fund as a “slush fund,” Reuters reported.
The California governor has argued the fund could reward people connected to the events of January 6 after Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 people on his first day back in office.
“He pardoned all of those folks that were beating up cops and absolved them, providing them 1.776 billion dollars. So not only do you get a pardon, you get rewarded,” Newsom said. “That’s why this is needed.”
Settlement Created Anti-Weaponization Fund
The Department of Justice announced the Anti-Weaponization Fund on May 18 as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, a lawsuit tied to the leak of Trump family tax records.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the settlement created a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund and barred the federal government from pursuing certain reviews, claims, or examinations involving past tax filings by Trump, his family, and related entities.
The fund will receive $1.776 billion from the federal judgment fund and provide a claims process for people or entities who allege political, personal, or ideological targeting by government actors, according to DOJ.
DOJ said President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages under the settlement.
California Spending Faces Scrutiny
Newsom’s push to claw back payments from the federal fund comes as California continues to manage budget pressure. The state’s May budget revision said the January budget plan addressed a projected $2.9 billion shortfall for fiscal year 2026-2027 and a projected deficit the following fiscal year.
The proposal also follows years of criticism over California’s major public works spending, including the state’s high-speed rail project. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pulled roughly $4 billion in unspent federal funding from the project in 2025, and the Department of Transportation said California had spent 16 years and roughly $15 billion without laying a single high-speed track.
Newsom also approved $25 million in 2025 for anticipated legal challenges against the Trump administration, CalMatters reported. California Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones later called that fund a “slush fund,” according to Fox News.
The dispute adds another flashpoint between the Trump administration and California, with Newsom seeking to tax state residents’ payments from the federal fund and Bessent dismissing the proposal in one sentence.
