100% tax on slush fund payouts

May 27, 2026
Public Citizen (citizen.org)

“[N]either the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States … all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.”

That is from the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution — passed after the Civil War to bring some measure of racial equality to our nation’s laws.

• It almost seems like something that would not need to be spelled out. Of course the government should not give money to anyone who fought to overthrow it.
• But the worry that people who engaged in insurrection would turn around and demand compensation was real enough that a rule prohibiting it did need to be written down. In fact, it is one entire sentence in an amendment that is only nine sentences overall.
• In flagrant violation of the 14th Amendment, Donald Trump has concocted a $1.8 billion, taxpayer-funded slush fund for MAGA loyalists — quite possibly including just about everyone convicted of crimes on and leading up to the attempted coup d’etat carried out in Trump’s name on January 6, 2021.
• Congress can and should prevent the fund from taking any money out of the Treasury and making any payments to anybody.

In case Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for MAGA crooks, cronies, and criminals begins disbursing payments in defiance of the law, Congress should pass emergency legislation imposing a 100% tax on any and all payments anyone receives from it.

Congratulations insurrectionist, here’s a check for $1,000,000.

And here’s your bill from the IRS for $1,000,000.

Tell Congress:

The 14th Amendment could not be clearer: Paying people who engage in insurrection against the United States would be patently unconstitutional. Pass the legislation — introduced by Representatives John B. Larson, Mike Thompson, and Richard Neal — mandating a 100% tax on any and all payouts from the Trump regime’s illegitimate, $1.8 billion MAGA loyalist slush fund.

Click to add your name now.

This is a message for the entire House and Senate, so take action today even if one or more of your members of Congress is a die-hard Trumpist.

Thanks for taking action.

For justice,

– Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen