It seems President Trump is finding ways to keep his agenda, nicknamed D.O.G.E., alive by creatively navigating the legal system. Even though federal courts have pushed back on his attempts to freeze spending, his administration has discovered a workaround.

Instead of outright ignoring court orders, President Trump’s team is taking a different approach. They’ve placed their political appointees within government agencies, and these appointees are now being instructed to put spending on hold using different legal justifications.

So, what’s the result? The funds remain stuck, effectively frozen, while the administration maintains they are following the court’s directives.

Trump’s Appointees Use Technicalities to Keep USAID Funds Frozen

A key figure in this strategy is Pete Marocco, a President Trump appointee leading efforts related to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He explained in a federal court in Washington exactly how this tactic is being implemented.

Marocco admitted that USAID officials were indeed told to disregard President Trump’s initial freeze order. However, that didn’t automatically mean money started flowing. According to employees at USAID and the aid organizations reliant on their funding, the agency’s “Phoenix” payment system, which is responsible for handling contracts and grants, is still not working properly.

Humanitarian aid programs are still facing roadblocks in processing payments. Officials are saying that the new system actually makes it even more complicated to release funds. Marocco further revealed that Trump’s team has established a new payment process that includes extra layers of approvals.

Now, for every transaction to go through, there needs to be written confirmation from a senior official confirming that the spending aligns with the administration’s policies. This review process is designed to ensure every grant and contract is thoroughly examined before it’s approved.

“Payments will be released as they are processed,” Marocco stated in his court filing. But here’s the crucial point: President Trump’s original order is no longer being cited as the reason for the freeze.

Instead, government agencies are now using other legal authorities to keep the money tied up. These alternative laws and regulations haven’t been blocked by the courts, which means the administration can still utilize them.

This type of loophole maneuvering isn’t just happening with foreign aid spending. It’s also come up in legal challenges regarding an order from Mr. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget. This order instructed agencies to halt a massive amount—up to $3 trillion—in domestic grants, loans, and contractual spending.

President Trump Floats Idea of Sending D.O.G.E. Savings Back to Americans

Interestingly, while President Trump’s administration is actively limiting government spending in some areas, D.O.G.E. is apparently generating significant savings. Just recently, on Wednesday, Trump mentioned that he was considering a plan to send 20% of these savings directly to American citizens.

“There’s even under consideration a new concept where we give 20% of the D.O.G.E savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt,” Trump explained at the FII Priority Summit in Miami Beach, Florida.

Trump’s comments came shortly after Elon Musk posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he would “check with the President” about a proposal to issue tax refund checks, potentially funded by D.O.G.E savings.

The original idea for this actually came from James Fishback, CEO of Azoria, an investment firm based in Miami. Fishback suggested that Trump could distribute a portion of the cost savings from D.O.G.E. as a “D.O.G.E Dividend”.

Musk has publicly stated his goal of cutting federal spending by $2 trillion out of a $6.75 trillion annual budget. If this ambitious goal is achieved, Fishback argues that 20% of the savings—which would be $400 billion—should be returned to taxpayers. According to Fishback’s calculations, this could mean a $5,000 check for every household in the U.S.

“When a breach of this magnitude happens in the private sector, the counterparty, at minimum, refunds the customer since they failed to deliver what was promised,” Fishback wrote in his proposal. “It’s high time for the federal government to do the same and refund money back to taxpayers given what D.O.G.E has uncovered.”

Source: cryptopolitan.com