Douglas Rissing/iStock/Getty Images Plus Without much ado, President Donald Trump provided the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with sweeping authority over government contracts, grants, and loans. The move further consolidates fiscal decision-making under a centralized, AI-driven, unaccountable office with unprecedented power. The development coincided with last week’s much-anticipated release of files on Jeffrey Epstein and a visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The executive order may read like a routine effort to cut waste and enhance transparency. But a closer look reveals a much larger transformation at play — one that further shifts the very foundations of government operations into the hands of AI systems and unelected technocrats.
DOGE’s New Powers
The executive order outlines a sweeping expansion of DOGE’s powers over federal spending.
The directive requires each agency head to work with their DOGE team lead. The goal is to
build a centralized technological system within the agency to seamlessly record every payment issued by the agency pursuant to each of the agency’s covered contracts and grants.
The system must include a mechanism to halt payments that are not accompanied by a written justification from the approving official.
The order further requires a comprehensive review of all federal contracts and grants,
Each Agency Head, in consultation with the agency’s DOGE Team Lead, shall review all existing covered contracts and grants and, where appropriate and consistent with applicable law, terminate or modify (including through renegotiation) such covered contracts and grants.
This provision gives DOGE the authority to unilaterally influence government funding across a wide array of sectors. While the framework could expand further, for now the primary targets are education and foreign aid, which the order explicitly singles out for scrutiny.
DOGE is also involved in crafting “guidance on signing new contracts or modifying existing contracts.”
Additionally, the directive freezes agency credit card spending for 30 days. It also mandates a review of real-property leases to determine whether to exercise termination rights. Finally, it requires agency heads to collaborate with DOGE to identify and dispose of government-owned real estate deemed “no longer needed.”
The Risks of DOGE’s Expansion
In his order, Trump stressed that the reforms are needed to “reallocate spending to promote efficiency and advance the policies of my Administration.” Yet, such a consolidation of financial oversight under DOGE circumvents Congress’ exclusive power of the purse. It also entrenches unconstitutional federal spending while creating an AI-driven mechanism for selective defunding and political manipulation.
Unconstitutional Spending
Instead of returning spending decisions to Congress, where they belong, DOGE centralizes financial control within an unelected techno-bureaucracy. It risks preserving politically favored expenditures while selectively scrutinizing others.
Education Funding. The Constitution does not grant the federal government authority to fund universities, research institutions, or public education. If fiscal responsibility is the true goal, the government must abolish all federal education spending — not just selectively target it.
Foreign Aid. The order subjects foreign contracts to additional scrutiny. Yet the administration allows billions in unexplained “emergency” foreign aid to Israel to continue unchecked. If funding foreign entities wastes taxpayer money, the government must reassess all foreign financial commitments. It cannot apply scrutiny selectively while allowing favored expenditures to continue unchecked.
Political Weapon?
It is evident that DOGE’s targeted review of education and foreign contracts is not a principled enforcement of constitutional limits. Moreover, bad actors can easily weaponize the system. Even if one assumes the noble intentions of DOGE and its de facto head, Elon Musk, its built-in features can be turned against the people.
Censorship Tool. An unelected oversight system can pause federal grants to universities. The same mechanism can financially strangle other institutions, industries, or organizations based on the political motives of those who program the technology.
Foreign Funding Hypocrisy. DOGE scrutinizes foreign contracts yet allows politically motivated foreign aid to continue flowing. This oversight is not about fiscal discipline but about controlling the flow of funds to serve shifting geopolitical interests.
A System Ripe for Abuse
Rather than working with Congress to restore financial authority to elected representatives, the Trump administration grants DOGE control over spending decisions. Instead of decentralizing power to the states, it consolidates financial oversight under an AI-driven bureaucracy. This shift creates a permanent chokepoint for government funding.
The risks grow even greater given Elon Musk’s deep conflicts of interest. Musk is often portrayed as an anti-Establishment outsider with a libertarian streak. However, he’s a major government contractor and head of federally funded enterprises, including SpaceX, Tesla, and AI ventures. He profits from the very system DOGE oversees.
By placing federal spending under an unelected techno-bureaucracy, the government opens the door to financial favoritism, selective enforcement, and potential self-dealing. Those who design and control the system can manipulate its rules to serve their own interests.
With unelected technocrats, government contractors, and AI-driven oversight dictating federal spending, DOGE does not eliminate government overreach. It merely reengineers it, making it more opaque, less accountable, and easier to manipulate.
False Solution to Federal Overreach
The John Birch Society, parent company of The New American magazine, has long argued that over 80 percent of the federal government operates outside constitutional limits. The issue isn’t inefficiency — it’s unlawful overreach. The solution is simple, free, and already in the law: Return to constitutional constraints and decentralize power to the states.
True and much-needed reform doesn’t come from AI oversight or bureaucratic restructuring. It comes from adhering to the Constitution and restoring governance to local and state authorities, where accountable leaders make spending decisions.
Musk’s “Advisory” Role in “Optimizing” Government
Reprogramming the Republic: Musk’s Quiet AI Takeover of Federal Power
AI and the Federal Purse: Musk’s Reforms of Treasury Oversight
DOGE at the Pentagon: The Business of More “Efficient” Wars
Trump Unveils $500 Billion “Stargate” AI Project, in Line With WEF Agenda
