Former Vice President Mike Pence has publicly broken with President Donald Trump once again, saying that anyone who assaulted law enforcement officers during the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol should never receive taxpayer-funded compensation.
Speaking with Axios while promoting his upcoming book What Conservatives Believe, Pence described January 6 as a “tragic day” and said those who committed acts of violence should not benefit financially from the government.
“I didn’t agree with the President when he pardoned people who engaged in violence against law enforcement officials,” Pence said. “And it would be my hope that anyone who engaged in violence against law enforcement or at the Capitol building would never be rewarded with taxpayers’ money.”
Pence’s comments follow the Trump administration’s announcement of a proposed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” created as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. According to the administration, the fund is intended to compensate individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted or harmed through government actions.
The fund’s broad eligibility criteria have prompted questions about whether some individuals charged in connection with January 6 could qualify. Trump has pardoned hundreds of defendants and has repeatedly referred to many of them as “patriots” and “hostages.” Critics argue that such actions could include people convicted of assaulting police officers during the attack.
Pence has consistently distinguished between peaceful demonstrators and those who used violence on January 6. His relationship with Trump deteriorated after the 2020 election, when Trump and several allies urged Pence to delay or block Congress’s certification of the Electoral College results. Pence declined, saying he lacked the constitutional authority to do so.
During the interview, Pence also called on Republicans to refocus on what he described as the party’s traditional conservative priorities, including a strong national defense, fiscal discipline, and support for long-standing conservative values.
“The overwhelming majority of people that have ever voted for Republican candidates still believe in those time-honored principles,” Pence said.
His remarks highlight continuing divisions within the Republican Party over the events of January 6 and the broader direction of the GOP. Supporters of Trump have generally defended his pardons and efforts to address what they view as politically motivated prosecutions, while other Republicans, including Pence, continue to argue that those who committed violence against police officers should be held accountable and should not receive government compensation.
