Business
DOGE discovers $4.7T in untraceable U.S. Treasury payments

MxM News
Quick Hit:
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established under President Donald Trump, has discovered that nearly $4.7 trillion in U.S. Treasury payments were processed with an optional, often blank identification code—making them nearly impossible to track. The revelation has prompted immediate changes to federal financial reporting, mandating full transparency on these transactions moving forward.
Key Details:
- DOGE found that the Treasury Access Symbol (TAS), a key financial identifier, was frequently left blank in transactions totaling $4.7 trillion.
- The Trump administration’s watchdog agency worked with the U.S. Treasury to close this loophole, making the TAS field mandatory for all federal payments.
- DOGE continues to uncover and eliminate government waste, already reporting an estimated $55 billion in taxpayer savings through spending cuts and contract renegotiations.
Diving Deeper:
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk under President Donald Trump’s administration, has made a bombshell discovery regarding federal spending. According to the agency, $4.7 trillion in payments were funneled through the U.S. Treasury without clear tracking due to an often-missing Treasury Access Symbol (TAS). This identifier, which links government expenditures to specific budget items, was optional in the federal system—resulting in payments that were nearly impossible to trace.
DOGE announced the finding on X, explaining that the TAS field has now been made mandatory for all federal payments. “As of Saturday, this is now a required field, increasing insight into where money is actually going,” the agency stated. This change is expected to bring a new level of transparency to federal finances, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are properly accounted for.
The revelation coincides with DOGE’s broader mission to root out wasteful government spending. Since its creation via executive order, the agency has reported $55 billion in estimated savings, achieved through fraud detection, renegotiations of contracts, and regulatory cuts. The agency is also working to make its cost-cutting measures fully transparent, committing to updating its financial data twice per week with the goal of transitioning to real-time reporting.
Musk’s leadership at DOGE has sparked both praise and controversy. While conservatives applaud the agency’s aggressive stance on reducing bloated government programs, critics—particularly among Democrats—have raised concerns over its authority to access federal data and cancel government contracts. Attorneys general from 14 states have filed a lawsuit aiming to block DOGE from federal systems, arguing that its executive authority over financial oversight is an overreach.
Despite legal challenges, DOGE recently won a key court battle, with a federal judge in Washington declining to temporarily block its access to sensitive data from several agencies, including the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. This ruling is seen as a green light for the Trump administration’s cost-cutting mission to continue.
With the U.S. national debt at record highs, DOGE’s latest discovery raises serious questions about past government financial management. The $4.7 trillion in untraceable payments underscores why the agency was created in the first place—and why Washington’s establishment has resisted its oversight.
Automotive
Trump warns U.S. automakers: Do not raise prices in response to tariffs

MxM News
Quick Hit:
Former President Donald Trump warned automakers not to raise car prices in response to newly imposed tariffs, arguing that the move would ultimately benefit the industry by strengthening American manufacturing. However, automakers are signaling that price increases may be unavoidable.
Key Details:
- Trump told auto executives on a recent call that his administration would look unfavorably on price hikes due to tariffs.
- A 25% tariff on imported vehicles and parts is set to take effect on April 2, likely driving up costs for U.S. automakers.
- Industry analysts predict vehicle prices could rise 11% to 12% in response, despite Trump’s insistence that tariffs will benefit American manufacturing.
Diving Deeper:
In a conference call with leading automakers earlier this month, former President Donald Trump issued a stern warning: do not use his new tariffs as an excuse to raise car prices. While Trump presented the tariffs as a boon for American manufacturing, industry leaders remain unconvinced, arguing that the financial burden will inevitably lead to higher costs for consumers.
Trump’s administration is pressing ahead with a 25% tariff on all imported vehicles and parts, set to take effect on April 2. The move is aimed at reshaping trade dynamics in the auto industry, encouraging domestic manufacturing, and reversing what Trump calls the damaging effects of President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle mandates. Despite this, automakers say that rising costs on foreign parts—which many depend on—will leave them little choice but to pass expenses onto consumers.
“You’re going to see prices going down, but going to go down specifically because they’re going to buy what we’re doing, incentivizing companies to—and even countries—companies to come into America,” Trump stated at a recent event, reinforcing his stance that the tariffs will ultimately lower costs in the long run.
However, industry insiders are pushing back, warning that a rapid shift to domestic production is unrealistic. “Tariffs, at any level, cannot be offset or absorbed,” said Ray Scott, CEO of Lear, a major automotive parts supplier. His concern reflects broader anxieties within the industry, as automakers calculate the financial strain of the tariffs. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate that vehicle prices could increase between 11% and 12% in the coming months as the new tariffs take effect.
Automakers have been bracing for the fallout. Detroit’s major manufacturers and industry suppliers have voiced their concerns, emphasizing that transitioning supply chains and manufacturing operations back to the U.S. will take years. Meanwhile, auto retailers have stocked up on inventory, temporarily shielding consumers from price hikes. But once that supply runs low—likely by May—the full impact of the tariffs could hit.
Within the Trump administration, inflation remains a pressing concern, though Trump himself rarely discusses it publicly. His economic team is aware of the potential for tariffs to drive up costs, yet the administration’s stance remains firm: automakers must adapt without raising prices. It remains unclear, however, what actions Trump might take should automakers defy his warning.
The auto industry isn’t alone in its concerns. Executives across multiple sectors, from oil and gas to food manufacturing, have been lobbying against major tariffs, arguing that they will inevitably result in higher prices for American consumers. While Trump has largely dismissed these warnings, some analysts suggest that public dissatisfaction with rising costs played a key role in shaping the outcome of the 2024 election.
With the tariffs set to take effect in just weeks, automakers are left grappling with a difficult reality: absorb billions in new costs or risk the ire of a White House determined to remake America’s trade policies.
Business
Labor Department cancels “America Last” spending spree spanning five continents

MxM News
Quick Hit:
The U.S. Department of Labor has scrapped nearly $600 million in foreign aid grants, including $10 million aimed at promoting “gender equity in the Mexican workplace.”
Key Details:
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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling were credited with delivering $237 million in savings through the latest round of canceled programs.
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Among the defunded initiatives: $12.2 million for “worker empowerment” efforts in South America, $6.25 million to improve labor rights in Central American agriculture, and $5 million to promote women’s workplace participation in West Africa.
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The Department of Government Efficiency described the cuts as necessary to realign U.S. labor policy with national interests and applauded the elimination of all 69 international grants managed by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Diving Deeper:
The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday canceled $577 million in foreign aid grants, including a controversial $10 million program aimed at promoting “gender equity in the Mexican workplace,” according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. The sweeping decision to terminate all 69 active international labor grants comes as part of a larger restructuring effort led by John Clark, a senior DOL official appointed during the Trump administration.
Clark directed the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) to shut down its entire grant portfolio, citing a “lack of alignment with agency priorities and national interest.” The memo explaining the cancellations was first reported by The Washington Post and highlights a broader shift in federal labor policy toward domestic-focused initiatives.
Among the eliminated grants were high-dollar projects that had drawn criticism from watchdog groups for years. These included $12.2 million designated for “worker empowerment in South America,” $6.25 million targeting labor conditions in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and $5 million to elevate women’s workplace participation in West Africa. Other defunded programs involved $4.3 million to support foreign migrant workers in Malaysia, $3 million to improve social protections for internal migrants in Bangladesh, and $3 million to promote “safe and inclusive work environments” in Lesotho.
The Department of Government Efficiency, also involved in the review, labeled the grants as “America Last” initiatives, and pointed to the lack of measurable outcomes and limited benefits to American workers. The agency commended the leadership of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling for securing $237 million in savings during this round alone.
The cuts mark the second major cost-saving move under Chavez-DeRemer’s leadership in as many weeks. Just days earlier, she canceled an additional $33 million in funding, including a $1.5 million grant focused on increasing transparency in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector. Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican congresswoman from Oregon, was confirmed as Labor Secretary on March 11th by a bipartisan Senate vote of 67-32.
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