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Follow the Money
How DOGE, the crypto industry, and a $10 billion peace deal are connected—a timeline from the 2024 election to today.
In 2024, one industry spent $245 million to help elect a Congress that would write its rules. A new government office started firing thousands of federal workers. And $10 billion was promised to rebuild a war zone—without Congress ever voting on it. These three stories sound unrelated. They're not. Here's how the money connects them.
spent by the crypto industry on the 2024 election
in DOGE cuts codified into law by Congress
pledged to the Board of Peace with no Congressional vote
votes—the margin on nearly every key bill in this story
Three Threads, One Story
This page follows three storylines. They start separately, but by the end you'll see how they connect. Each thread has its own color so you can track it through the timeline.
DOGE
A new government office created by executive order to cut spending and shrink federal agencies.
Crypto
The cryptocurrency industry's campaign to shape its own regulation through record-breaking political spending.
Board of Peace
An international body created to rebuild Gaza, with a $10 billion U.S. commitment that never went through Congress.
What Is DOGE?
DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency. Despite the name, it is not actually a government department. It was created by Executive Order 14158 on January 20, 2025—the same day the president took office. The order renamed an existing office called the U.S. Digital Service and put Elon Musk in charge as a "special government employee."
Why this matters
DOGE was not created by Congress. Nobody voted on it. Because it came from an executive order, a future president can shut it down with one signature. But while it exists, it has fired thousands of federal workers and canceled billions of dollars in contracts and grants.
Here's the sequence of what happened:
Jan 20, 2025
Executive Order 14158 creates DOGE
The president renames the U.S. Digital Service, puts Musk in charge, and gives it until July 4, 2026 to operate.
Feb–Mar 2025
Mass layoffs begin
DOGE directs agencies to use a 4-to-1 rule: for every 4 employees who leave, only 1 can be replaced. Thousands are fired. Courts later block some of these actions.
Jun–Jul 2025
Rescissions Act makes DOGE cuts permanent
Congress votes to cancel $9.4 billion that had already been approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The House passes it 214–212. The Senate passes it 51–48.
Congress's Role
Congress did not create DOGE. But Congress did vote on the Rescissions Act (H.R. 4), which turned $9.4 billion in DOGE spending cuts into permanent law. The House passed it by 2 votes. The Senate passed it by 3. That means this part of the story came down to a handful of members of Congress.
What is a rescission?
When the president wants to cancel money that Congress already approved, they send a "rescission request" to Congress. Congress has 45 days to vote yes or no. If Congress votes no (or doesn't vote at all), the money must be spent as originally planned. This rule comes from the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a law passed after President Nixon tried to hold back money Congress had approved. (The Watergate hearings that led to Nixon's resignation also drove the campaign finance reforms that created the FEC.) You'll see this law come up again later in this article.
Want to understand how executive orders and bills work? Read Executive Orders and How Bills & Votes Work.
The Crypto Connection
Before a single crypto bill was written, the industry made sure it would have a friendly audience. In the 2024 election, crypto companies and their super PACs spent $245 million—more than the oil, pharma, or defense industries. The biggest spender was a super PAC called Fairshake, funded by three major crypto players: Coinbase (a crypto exchange), Ripple (a payments company), and Andreessen Horowitz (a venture capital firm that invests heavily in crypto startups).
What does "spending $245 million on an election" actually mean? It means running TV ads, digital ads, and mailers for candidates who support crypto-friendly laws—and against candidates who don't. Super PACs can spend unlimited money on these efforts as long as they don't coordinate directly with a candidate's campaign. (Read more about how this works in our PACs & Super PACs explainer.)
Their strategy worked. Of the 58 races Fairshake targeted, 91% of their preferred candidates won. Here are some of the biggest examples:
Ohio: Bernie Moreno defeated Sherrod Brown
Brown (D) was chair of the Senate Banking Committee and had been blocking crypto bills for years. Fairshake and its affiliates spent over $40 million against him. Moreno, a Republican and blockchain entrepreneur, won. Ohio went from having one Democrat and one Republican senator to two Republicans.
California: Katie Porter lost her primary
Porter (D) was a vocal critic of crypto. Fairshake spent over $12 million opposing her Senate bid. She lost in the primary.
New York: Jamaal Bowman lost his primary
Bowman (D) was a progressive House member who opposed crypto deregulation. Crypto-backed spending helped his primary opponent defeat him.
The result: roughly 300 pro-crypto lawmakers now sit in the House and Senate. That's the audience the crypto industry paid $245 million to build.
What They Got
Jan 23, 2025
Executive order banning CBDCs
A CBDC is a digital dollar controlled by the Federal Reserve. The crypto industry opposed it because it could compete with their products. The president banned it by executive order.
Mar 6, 2025
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
The government already held about 207,000 Bitcoin seized from criminals (worth roughly $17 billion). An executive order said the government must keep it all and never sell it—like a "digital Fort Knox."
Jul 18, 2025
GENIUS Act signed into law
The first major crypto law in U.S. history. It creates rules for stablecoins—cryptocurrencies designed to stay at exactly $1. Passed the Senate 68–30 and the House 308–122. One of the few bills in this story with bipartisan support.
Jul 17, 2025
CLARITY Act passes the House
This bill shifts oversight of crypto markets from the SEC (a tougher regulator) to the CFTC (a smaller, less aggressive one). The crypto industry lobbied hard for this change. It passed the House but is still waiting on the Senate.
The Conflict of Interest
Here's where it gets uncomfortable. The president's family launched a crypto company called World Liberty Financial during the 2024 campaign. It created a stablecoin called USD1—which is exactly the kind of product the GENIUS Act regulates. The family's crypto holdings are reportedly worth about $5 billion.
So the president signed a law that directly affects his own family's business. Democrats tried to add a rule that would bar the president and their family from profiting from crypto while in office. Republicans voted the amendment down.
Why this matters
Whether you see this as smart business or a conflict of interest, the sequence is worth knowing: the crypto industry spent $245 million to elect a friendly Congress, that Congress passed crypto-friendly laws, and the president's family stands to profit from those laws. That's the money trail.
Vocab check
CBDC: Central Bank Digital Currency. A digital dollar controlled by the Federal Reserve. Think of it as a government-run version of crypto. The crypto industry fought against it because it could replace their products.
Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency designed to always be worth $1. Companies that issue stablecoins hold reserves (like U.S. Treasury bonds) to back them up. The GENIUS Act creates rules for how much they need to hold.
Super PAC: An organization that can raise and spend unlimited money to support or oppose candidates, as long as they don't coordinate directly with the campaign. Learn more →
The Board of Peace
The Board of Peace is an international body created to oversee rebuilding Gaza after the war. It is not a U.S. government agency. But the United States plays the central role—and the money involved raises serious questions about who has the power to spend it.
Nov 2025
The UN endorses the framework
The UN Security Council passes Resolution 2803 (13–0, with China and Russia abstaining), endorsing a peace plan for Gaza that includes the Board of Peace as its oversight body.
Jan 2026
Board of Peace established at Davos
The charter is signed at the World Economic Forum. Trump is named "chairman for life." Permanent membership costs $1 billion per country. Most European allies—France, Germany, the UK, Spain—declined to join.
Feb 19, 2026
Trump pledges $10 billion
At the Board's first meeting, the president pledges $10 billion in U.S. funds. No source of funding was identified. Congress never voted on it. No bill was passed to authorize it.
Why this matters
Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the president cannot redirect money that Congress approved for something else. And Congress never approved $10 billion for the Board of Peace. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) called the pledge "totally illegal." Whether it actually happens depends on whether Congress challenges it—or goes along with it.
What is the Impoundment Control Act?
A 1974 law that says the president must spend money the way Congress says to spend it. The president can ask Congress to cancel spending (that's a rescission—see the DOGE section above). But the president cannot just redirect money to something else without asking. This law was passed after President Nixon tried to do exactly that. It's now at the center of both the DOGE story and the Board of Peace story.
Where the Threads Meet
This is where the three stories connect. DOGE cut $9.4 billion from domestic programs like foreign aid and public broadcasting. The crypto industry spent $245 million to shape its own regulation—and the president's family now profits from the laws that were passed. And $10 billion was pledged to an international body without a single vote in Congress.
The common thread: enormous amounts of public money, moved with minimal involvement from the people's elected representatives. Whether through razor-thin votes, executive orders, or no vote at all.
The Full Timeline
Here's the complete sequence from the 2024 election to today. Each event is color-coded by thread. Tap any event to read more.
A super PAC called Fairshake, funded by Coinbase, Ripple, and Andreessen Horowitz, spent more on the 2024 election than the oil, pharma, or defense industries. They targeted candidates who opposed crypto regulation. 91% of the candidates they backed won.
OpenSecrets →Executive Order 14158 renamed an existing office called the U.S. Digital Service and put Elon Musk in charge as a 'special government employee.' Despite the name, DOGE is not an actual government department. Congress never voted on it.
Federal Register →Three days later, a second executive order banned the Federal Reserve from creating a digital dollar (called a CBDC). It also created a working group to write crypto-friendly rules, chaired by David Sacks, a venture capitalist and crypto investor.
White House →DOGE directed agencies to fire workers on a 4-to-1 ratio: for every 4 people who leave, only 1 can be hired. Thousands of federal employees were laid off. Contracts worth billions were canceled or frozen. Courts later blocked some of these actions.
An executive order created a government Bitcoin reserve using about 207,000 Bitcoin (worth roughly $17 billion) that had been seized in criminal cases. The order banned selling any of it and called Bitcoin a 'digital Fort Knox.'
Federal Register →The government needed money to keep running. The House passed a continuing resolution by just 4 votes. Democrats argued it did nothing to stop DOGE from withholding money Congress had already approved.
Congress.gov: H.R. 1968 →The biggest bill of the year passed the House 215-214 and the Senate 51-50 (the Vice President broke the tie). It made the 2017 tax cuts permanent, raised the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, and cut spending on programs like Medicaid.
Congress.gov: H.R. 1 →This bill turned DOGE's spending cuts into law. It canceled $8.3 billion from foreign aid (including USAID) and $1.1 billion from public broadcasting (NPR and PBS). It passed the House by 2 votes and the Senate by 3.
Congress.gov: H.R. 4 →The first major crypto law in U.S. history. It sets rules for who can issue stablecoins (cryptocurrencies pegged to $1). The president's family runs a stablecoin called USD1 that falls under this law. Democrats tried to add a rule barring the president from profiting; Republicans voted it down.
Congress.gov: S.1582 →This bill gives the CFTC (a smaller, less aggressive regulator) control over most crypto markets instead of the SEC. The crypto industry had lobbied hard for this change. It passed the House 294-134 but has not yet passed the Senate.
Congress.gov: H.R. 3633 →Congress couldn't agree on a full budget for 2026. The government shut down on October 1. It reopened November 12 with a temporary fix that funded most agencies through January 30, 2026.
Congress.gov: H.R. 5371 →An international body to oversee rebuilding Gaza. The charter was signed at the World Economic Forum. Trump was named 'chairman for life.' Permanent membership costs $1 billion per country. Most European allies declined to join.
Background →After months of shutdowns and temporary fixes, Congress passed a full budget for 2026. It passed the House by just 3 votes. Republicans called it a victory for DOGE-backed reforms; independent analysts said spending was mostly flat.
Congress.gov: H.R. 7148 →At the Board of Peace's first formal meeting, the president pledged $10 billion in U.S. funds. Congress never voted on it. No funding source was named. Senator Chris Murphy called it 'totally illegal.' Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the president cannot redirect money without Congress's approval.
PBS NewsHour →Key Bills and Votes
Every bill in this story passed by razor-thin margins—except the crypto bills, which had bipartisan support. Here's the full record.
| Bill | Title | Chamber | Date | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H.R. 1968 | FY2025 Continuing Resolution | House | Mar 11, 2025 | 217–213 |
| H.R. 1968 | FY2025 Continuing Resolution | Senate | Mar 14, 2025 | 54–46 |
| H.R. 1 | One Big Beautiful Bill (reconciliation) | House | May 22, 2025 | 215–214 |
| H.R. 1 | One Big Beautiful Bill (reconciliation) | Senate | Jul 1, 2025 | 51–50 (VP tiebreaker) |
| H.R. 4 | Rescissions Act (DOGE cuts) | House | Jun 12, 2025 | 214–212 |
| H.R. 4 | Rescissions Act (DOGE cuts) | Senate | Jul 17, 2025 | 51–48 |
| S.1582 | GENIUS Act (stablecoins) | Senate | Jun 17, 2025 | 68–30 |
| S.1582 | GENIUS Act (stablecoins) | House | Jul 17, 2025 | 308–122 |
| H.R. 3633 | CLARITY Act (crypto markets) | House | Jul 17, 2025 | 294–134 |
| H.R. 5371 | Partial FY2026 CR (end shutdown) | House | Sep 19, 2025 | 217–212 |
| H.R. 5371 | Partial FY2026 CR (end shutdown) | Senate | Nov 10, 2025 | 60–40 |
| H.R. 7148 | FY2026 Appropriations | House | Feb 3, 2026 | 217–214 |
Notice the margins
Six of these twelve votes passed by 5 or fewer votes in their chamber. The One Big Beautiful Bill needed the Vice President to break a tie. The GENIUS Act is the only bill in this story with strong bipartisan support (68–30 in the Senate). Everything else came down to party-line votes decided by a handful of members.
How It All Connects
Step back and look at the full picture:
The crypto industry invested $245 million to elect a friendly Congress.
That Congress then passed crypto-friendly laws. The president's family profits from those laws.
DOGE cut $9.4 billion from domestic programs.
Created by executive order, not Congress. The cuts were later codified into law by margins of 2–3 votes.
$10 billion was pledged overseas with no Congressional vote.
The Impoundment Control Act says the president can't do this. Whether it's enforced is up to Congress.
The pattern in every case: enormous sums of public money, moved with minimal democratic input—either through razor-thin votes, executive orders, or no vote at all.
What Congress can do
Congress has the power to investigate DOGE spending through oversight hearings. It can enforce the Impoundment Control Act. It can require disclosure of crypto conflicts of interest. The question is whether the members elected in 2026 will do any of that. That's where your vote comes in.
What You Can Do
See how your senator voted
Every roll call in this article is public record. Head to Re-elect or Reject and tap any senator's photo to see how they voted on the Rescissions Act, the GENIUS Act, and the other bills from this article.
Follow the money in your district
Check OpenSecrets.org to see who's funding your representatives. See who's running in your state at Who's Running.
Show up
Most of these bills passed by 1–3 votes. Midterm elections are decided by who shows up. Find your ballot and make a plan at Find Your Ballot.
Guide 13 of 22
Next up: Tariffs: A Buzzword, Explained — What tariffs are, who actually pays them, and what happens when presidents use them.
Previous: Campaign Finance: The Big Picture
Sources
- Federal Register: Executive Order 14158 (DOGE)
- White House: Executive Order on Digital Financial Technology
- Federal Register: Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Executive Order
- Congress.gov: H.R. 1968 (FY2025 Continuing Resolution)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 4 (Rescissions Act of 2025)
- Congress.gov: S.1582 (GENIUS Act)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 3633 (CLARITY Act)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 5371 (Partial FY2026 CR)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 7148 (FY2026 Appropriations)
- OpenSecrets: Crypto Industry's Impact on 2024 Elections
- Public Citizen: Fairshake Super PAC and 2024 Elections
- UN: Security Council Resolution 2803
- PBS NewsHour: Trump $10 Billion Board of Peace Pledge
- CBS News: Trump Family Crypto Holdings
- PBS NewsHour: Trump Family Cryptocurrency Ties
Glossary
5 terms on this page
When the president tries to withhold or redirect money that Congress already approved.
Elections held halfway through a president's 4-year term.
Congress's power to investigate and monitor the executive branch.
A request from the president to cancel spending that Congress already approved.
An organization that can spend unlimited money on elections but can't coordinate with candidates.
Glossary
5 terms on this page
When the president tries to withhold or redirect money that Congress already approved.
Elections held halfway through a president's 4-year term.
Congress's power to investigate and monitor the executive branch.
A request from the president to cancel spending that Congress already approved.
An organization that can spend unlimited money on elections but can't coordinate with candidates.