Late Sunday, Aug. 3 -- Blanche had been in agreement all along. The president had not.

"This order establishes, beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund."

No funds were transferred and no claims were paid before the termination, the department said.

The fund had been the central obstacle to Blanche converting his title from acting to permanent, a distinction that matters considerably in a Justice Department he has already been running since January. Congress created no such position; Blanche served under emergency appointment, and Trump needed Senate confirmation to close that gap. Two Republican senators made that impossible as long as the fund existed, setting up a standoff that persisted through the summer as negotiations stalled and...