Trump 'going through the couch cushions of government' to fund his whims

U.S. President Donald Trump makes a sports announcement at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 5, 2025.

Donald Trump is desperate to spend, according to a new analysis from Axios, but in order to do so without Congressional oversight, his administration is turning to means of funding that are "nontraditional at best," which the outlet summed up as "going through the couch cushions of government."

In a Monday report, Axios highlighted Trump's tapping of certain pockets of money in the federal government that would not require Congressional approval or oversight to use in order to advance parts of his agenda. This included "$200 billion from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for mortgage bonds, $20 billion from the Treasury fund for Argentina," according to the outlet. While this method could generously be described as "creative," as some have, others have also likened it to the tactics used by socialist or authoritarian leaders, which the Trump administration has claimed to oppose.

"The executive branch is getting very creative using the pockets of money at their disposal with no congressional oversight," Ed Al-Hussainy, a portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle, explained to Axios, later likening it to "communism with capitalist characteristics."

Breaking down the specifics, Axios explained that the administration tapped the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund in order underwrite a currency swap with Argentina to bail out its ailing economy under the far-right leadership of Trump ally Javier Milei.

More recently, Trump demanded that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities in order to help push down interest rates, a goal he has been unable to intimidate the Federal Reserve into achieving for him.

In the face of its uncertain plans to backstop the oil infrastructure in Venezuela without oil company investments, and to put forward an offer to purchase Greenland from Denmark, Axios noted that the administration has "floated the use of unspecified pools of capital," echoing the previously mentioned tactics in more vague terms.

In a meeting with clients, BCA Research compared these funding policies to those utilized by the likes of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

"I would not think that they will stick to traditional methods to accomplish their goals," Peter Tchir, head of macro for Academy Securities, explained during his own recent call with clients. "They've said what they want. The market seems to be ignoring them."

Trump is also leaning on these unorthodox funding sources to avoid increases in the US budget deficit, which Republicans have long used to attack Democratic spending initiatives. Al-Hussainy also noted that going down this road would require an increase in taxes down the road to pay down the deficit, another "non-starter" proposal given the GOP's aversion to new or higher taxes.

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