The Trump administration is closing in on $1 billion in payments to American veterans, families and civilian employees who were exposed to toxic drinking water at Marine Corps Camp Lejeune in North Carolina between 1953 and 1987.
For many, the payouts would finally rectify a decades-long battle for justice.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), claimants have received more than $919.7 million since President Donald Trump began his second term in office in January 2025. The administration has paid out about 3,300 people who made claims under the 2022 law. From that year to the beginning of 2025, before Trump retook office, only 459 settlements had been paid, totaling $59.6 million.
Payments under the program range from $100,000 to $550,000, depending on the illness.
“Tonight I’m pleased to announce my administration has delivered $1 billion in cash settlements to these veterans and their families, in addition to 3.1 billion for the VA and ordering the DOJ to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina on Tuesday night. “We don’t want to give any to the trial lawyers, we want it all to go to the families.”
The claims are due to be paid out under a 2022 law, the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, which includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. Under the law, victims who developed cancer or other illnesses from the drinking water on the base are entitled to relief.
The Trump administration in March announced that it was making settlements a priority, and made a concerted effort to accelerate the pace of the payouts.
Ed Bell is a South Carolina-based attorney who spearheaded the charge to pass the law. He’s been an attorney for 44 years, and for half of that time has been fighting for justice for the Camp Lejeune victims. He’s the lead counsel on the case, helping victims to get the payouts they’re owed.
“A lot of these people have been waiting a long time, and quite frankly, I think a lot of them are relieved,” Bell told Fox News Digital. “A lot of them feel like the government has finally said, ‘we’re sorry,’ by helping with the settlements, so I think it’s very positive.”
Bell estimates that about 300,000 claims will eventually be paid out, acknowledging that there’s a long way to go to completely remedy the wrong that was done.
But he was complimentary of the team of people in the Trump administration dedicated to justice.
“I have to say, I’m very bullish on what the Department of Justice has been doing,” he said, noting that he works closely with Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, who he says is “working his tail off” on the settlements.
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“[Woodward] is excellent, but you have to remember, this case and any resolution involves hundreds and hundreds of details, and it is a laborious process,” Bell said. “I am pleased to work with [the DOJ], and I think that eventually we’ll get this resolved. I think that’s the intent of the Department of Justice.”
Bell, who took his first case on the Camp Lejeune drinking water contamination in 2007, explained that each settlement is based on the level of harm caused to the victim. So, he explained, someone diagnosed with stage one cancer would ultimately be paid out less than someone who had stage four cancer.
“It’s a fair system,” Bell said.
Between 1953 and 1987, three of the base’s eight water systems contained contaminated water.
Bell said that even after the government found out the water was toxic, it did nothing, allowing troops to continue drinking the hazardous mix. Pregnant women drank the water, leading to the death of their babies. The contamination was found to cause four incurable diseases, according to Bell.
The Justice Department and the Department of the Navy launched the “Elective Option” settlement program in 2023.
That program is designed as an alternative to litigation and offers quicker payouts to people with qualifying illnesses.