Some Republicans say Trump should close the door on paying out Jan. 6 rioters

Democrats and some Republicans were critical of the president’s defense of his “anti-weaponization” fund on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” Others believe the idea is dead.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump drew sharp rebukes from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill after he left the door open to taxpayer payouts for rioters who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6 attack in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” over the weekend.

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Trump’s planned “anti-weaponization” fund, which appears to be on pause amid bipartisan backlash, “should be for people who have had their constitutional rights violated, not who violated other people’s constitutional rights,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Monday. “If you’ve been convicted of assault on a cop ... doesn’t seem to me like people who are victims.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the Judiciary Committee, told NBC News he plans to introduce legislation this week to bar anyone convicted of offenses related to the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, or interfering in recent presidential elections from receiving taxpayer-funded federal payouts related to the Capitol riot.