The White House found a way to print a billion dollars without asking Congress.
April 17, 2026
Original Paper
How Trump’s Law Firm Settlements Circumvent Congress and Violate Federal Spending Laws
SSRN · 6466719
The Takeaway
The Constitution gives the 'power of the purse' to Congress, but this study reveals a loophole that bypasses it entirely. The administration used legal settlements to get law firms to provide nearly $1 billion in 'pro bono' services for White House priorities. Effectively, these private legal services became a shadow currency, allowing the executive branch to fund projects that Congress never approved. It’s a massive shift in how we understand federal spending. For regular citizens, it means the government can find ways to pay for things even when the 'checkbook' is officially locked.
From the abstract
<p>The Constitution vests Congress with exclusive control over federal spending—an essential check on the executive. Yet a series of 2025 settlement agreements between the Trump administration and major law firms—requiring nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services directed toward administration-approved initiatives—illustrates a growing pattern of executive action that circumvents this safeguard. By steering valuable resources to White House priorities without congressional approval, the admi