Top Treasury Lawyer Resigns After Creation of 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: New York Times

Top Treasury Lawyer Resigns After Creation of 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'

Brian Morrissey, the department's general counsel, stepped down hours after the Trump administration announced the $1.8 billion fund.


The Treasury Department's general counsel, Brian Morrissey, resigned on Monday, three people familiar with the move said. Jason Andrew for The New York Times

By Andrew Duehren
Reporting from Washington
May 18, 2026

The top lawyer at the Treasury Department stepped down on Monday in the wake of the creation of a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" that could soon make payments to President Trump's political allies, according to three people familiar with the move.

Brian Morrissey, the Treasury's general counsel, resigned from the position seven months after he was confirmed to it by the Senate and just hours after the Trump administration announced the fund on Monday.

Mr. Morrissey did not respond to requests for comment. A Treasury spokesman said, "Mr. Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors." In his resignation letter, Mr. Morrissey said he was grateful to have worked for Mr. Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to two people familiar with the letter.

{snip}

The Justice Department is creating the anti-weaponization fund as part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit that Mr. Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service, which falls under the umbrella of the Treasury Department. In his suit, Mr. Trump accused the I.R.S. of not doing enough to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of his tax information during his first term. The president dropped the suit on Monday under scrutiny from a judge who questioned whether Mr. Trump could legally sue a government agency he controls.

Andrew Duehren covers tax policy for The Times from Washington.
https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-duehren

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/business/anti-weaponization-fund-brian-morrissey-treasury.html

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https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/treasury-lawyer-quits-as-government-settles-trump-irs-suit-0658a44a

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Us * Law
Treasury Lawyer Quits as Government Settles Trump IRS Suit

Trump appointee leaves as administration creates $1.8 billion payment fund

By Richard Rubin and C. Ryan Barber
https://www.wsj.com/news/author/richard-rubin
https://www.wsj.com/news/author/cryan-barber
Updated May 18, 2026 11:41 pm ET


Brian Morrissey, who was Treasury Department general counsel. Eric Lee/Bloomberg News

WASHINGTON--The Treasury Department's top lawyer resigned Monday as the government announced a controversial settlement with President Trump, according to people familiar with his departure.

Brian Morrissey joined the Trump administration last year as the president's pick to be Treasury Department's general counsel, after previously serving at the agency and at the Justice Department during Trump's first term. A former clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, Morrissey didn't respond to a request for comment late Monday.

{snip}

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[democrank]

1. Morrissey resigned but was "grateful" to work for Trump.

More BS.

[LymphocyteLover]

9. WTF! Freaking freaks

[SpankMe]

14. He doesn't want to burn bridges

It's standard conops in gov't service of this kind.

[NJCher]

2. I said this 2 days ago

Any lawyer participating in this would lose their license to practice law. This is why he is resigning:

Harry Litman says it is a fully impeachable offense.

Jamie Raskin reiterated last night that it is unconstitutional.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. "Can only settle viable lawsuits, and [this isn't] one. This is going to be a fight."

Harry Litman
‪@harrylitman.bsky.social‬

DOJ announces 1.8B (1.776B if that doesn't make you puke) fund for victims of lawfare/weaponization, supposedly as part of Trump settlement. but That's 100% improper as a settlement of Trump's bogus lawsuit. Can only settle viable lawsuits, and htis is isn't one. This is going to be a fight.
12:00 PM · May 18, 2026

DOJ announces 1.8B (1.776B if that doesn't make you puke) fund for victims of lawfare/weaponization, supposedly as part of Trump settlement. but That's 100% improper as a settlement of Trump's bogus lawsuit. Can only settle viable lawsuits, and htis is isn't one. This is going to be a fight.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman.bsky.social) 2026-05-18T16:00:19.021Z

[NJCher]

4. Fireworks

I had not yet caught up on Harry this morning. In his podcast two days ago, he was so angry that he ended it with a litany of swear words the likes of which I have never seen from him.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Thanks for sending me down the Harry Litman rabbit hole.

And good morning.

[NJCher]

6. Also

There are four judges so far who have weighed in on this, and it is fairly clear that they see this as a scam.

So, per Harry’s remarks in the Bluesky post, if this is litigated, Trump might not get too far.

[erronis]

12. That. "If this is litigated." They are planning to settle out of court. trump settling with trump.

Joyce Vance - Kleptocracy - https://joycevance.substack.com/p/kleptocracy

[Ms. Toad]

13. Especially since the lawsuit was dismissed, with prejudice, with zero mention of a settlement.

That flips the law on its head.

You settle a case to resolve a lawsuit, not after the lawsuit is dismissed. Especially when the defendant is a government entity, or a publicly owned company, you can't create a legally binding settlement at a time a lawsuit doesn't exist.

I can't imagine this will hold.

[LymphocyteLover]

10. there SHOULD be mass resignations from the DOJ... where are those?

[dave99]

23. Why can't it just be killed ?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. I'm sure we're about to hear what a low-IQ person he was, and how he begged Trump for a job.

Brian P. Morrissey, ‘07 J.D.
Published: March 27, 2025
Author: Notre Dame Law School



President Trump has nominated Brian Morrissey to serve as General Counsel at the Department of the Treasury. Morrissey is currently a partner in the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP. During President Trump’s first term, Morrissey served as Deputy General Counsel for the Treasury Department and in senior Department of Justice roles. Morrissey has broad experience in government and private practice handling complex litigation, government investigations, and regulatory matters. He served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

[Ray Bruns]

8. He may have brought Trump some cofveve once.

[ToxMarz]

11. Former clerk for Clarence Thomas. Tells you how bad this truly is to be beyond the pale for that crew.

[SpankMe]

15. Another impeachable offense

There's no line item in the congressionally-aproved budget for this. But, he's going to allocate the funds anyway. This is a literal and direct violation of Article 1, Section 9 of the constitution, to wit "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law."

But, who's going to hold him to account? If congress can't impeach, they can sue and have SCOTUS rule on it. Can the Dems sue, even though they're not the party in charge?

[BradBo]

16. Coward. Say something you fool.

[FakeNoose]

17. When Chump is finally IMPEACHED for the final time, I hope this guy is called to testify

Maybe Brian Morrissey will show us that he has some scruples after all.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. This lawyer does not want to be disbarred

Link to tweet

[Wednesdays]

19. He lasted approximately 20 Scaramuccis. nt

[pansypoo53219]

20. no magat left behind. keep digging. more fodder for the democrats.

[maxsolomon]

21. It's only $1,776,000,000, not $1,800,000,000.

Stop rounding up, NYT.

[dlk]

22. Funding domestic terrorists

What could possibly go wrong?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

24. Trump Administration Sees Striking Exodus of Legal Talent (New York Times Gift Article)

Last edited Sun May 31, 2026, 07:31 PM - Edit history (1)

The departure of more than 10,000 federal lawyers has left some agencies without sufficient staff and has boosted the ranks of state attorneys general offices and advocacy groups.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/us/politics/trump-administration-exodus-of-lawyers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mlA.dD5J.pYj0ffF2G-RV&smid=nytcore-ios-share

President Trump’s upheaval of the federal government has led to an exodus of more than 10,000 lawyers since the beginning of 2025, a striking loss of legal talent that has left some agencies pushing to find attorneys to carry out his agenda.

Roughly one in five lawyers who worked in the government at the end of 2024 had left by March of this year, according to a New York Times analysis of federal employment data.

Along with the usual retirements and turnover in the federal work force, the last year saw deep staffing cuts and the resignations of some staff members who objected to Mr. Trump’s policies. Their departures show how rapidly the president has eroded the image of the federal government as the gold standard for lawyers seeking public service roles......

While federal agencies brought on about 3,200 lawyers since the beginning of 2025, departures still outpaced hiring, data shows. Lawyers also exited the government at a faster rate than turnover in the overall work force. All told, the federal government employed about 37,000 civilian lawyers at the end of March, 17 percent fewer than it did at the end of 2024.

The Justice Department, which employs more than a quarter of all government lawyers, saw the largest decline in raw numbers. But other agencies — including the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development — lost an even greater share of attorneys.....

Some prospective applicants have also been rattled by the departures of high-profile attorneys inside the administration.

Earlier this month, the general counsel of the Treasury Department, Brian Morrissey, resigned hours after the government announced it was creating a $1.8 billion fund expected to benefit Mr. Trump’s allies, a maneuver the administration said resolved the president’s pending lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax records. (On Friday, a federal judge reopened the case, saying she wanted to examine allegations that the deal was based on “deception.”)

[saif]

25. Top Treasury Lawyer Resigns After Creation of 'Anti-Weaponization Fund'

Interesting development. The resignation raises questions about the fund's purpose, oversight, and potential impact on Treasury policy moving forward.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

27. My spidey senses are tingling.

[Ocelot II]

26. He realized what a legal minefield he'd have to try to walk through

and that he'd probably get blown up. So he quite sensibly decided to salvage his reputation and his law license and quietly exit the stage.