Treasury Department General Counsel Brian Morrissey resigned Monday, one day after the Justice Department announced a roughly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who say they were improperly targeted by the federal government during the Biden administration, including some defendants tied to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
President Donald Trump nominated Morrissey to the Treasury Department’s top legal post last year. He served in the role for eight months after previously working as the department’s principal deputy general counsel and clerking for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
A Treasury spokesperson confirmed Morrissey’s resignation Tuesday, praising his tenure at the department.
“As General Counsel, Brian Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors,” the spokesperson said.
According to a resignation letter first reported by The New York Times, Morrissey expressed gratitude to both Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
His departure comes as the Trump administration moves forward with a $1.776 billion settlement fund connected to the resolution of a lawsuit Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service. The fund is intended to provide apologies and financial compensation to people who allege they were harmed by federal government actions.
The Treasury Department will oversee distribution of the money, which will be placed in an account managed by individuals appointed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a statement announcing the fund.
“As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” he added.
Justice Department officials have not yet released detailed eligibility rules for the payments. Several people charged or convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot have pending lawsuits against the federal government.
The settlement drew immediate criticism from Democrats, who accused the administration of using federal power to reward political allies and settle claims against itself.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, denounced the arrangement as legally improper.
“No one can be both plaintiff and defendant in the same case. And no president can concoct a fake case for $10 billion in damages against the government so he can be plaintiff and defendant and then ‘settle’ his bogus case against himself as a judge,” Raskin said. “This is simply not a genuine case or controversy as required by the Constitution. But Trump’s DOJ is not arguing any of this because it is in on the scam.”
He called the arrangement “pure fraud and highway robbery.”
Raskin was one of the main proponents of using the government to target conservatives during the Biden years. Last year he threatened foreign leaders who worked with Trump, promising that when Democrats get back into power he’d make them pay.
Morrissey’s resignation adds to a series of high-profile personnel changes inside the Treasury Department as the Trump administration works to address conservative claims that federal agencies were used for political purposes under the previous administration.
