LinkedIn on Wednesday, July 29, 2026
When the Democrats takeover control of the House and maybe the Senate too, and eventually The White House hopefully in 2028, they’re going to spend a great deal of their time re-establishing the integrity of our federal government. No doubt, this process will include holding Donald Trump accountable for money he’s stolen from the American people, for himself, family and major contributors. Will Trump and his benefactors end up serving time for the grift they have perpetrated? I don’t know. You and I would go to jail, but then we’re not President of the United States, his children or politically powerful billionaires.
What I do know is that federal government contracts include what is called the government right of “Termination for Convenience.” This language gives our government permission to terminate the contract and stop the work it describes, including all subcontracts, effectively immediately, if termination is deemed to be in the public interest.
So, what if the recipient of a given contact thinks he, she or it has outsmarted the government by excluding the “Termination for Convenience” clause from its contract? Turns out there is what is called “The Christian Doctrine.” No, religion has nothing to do with it. The doctrine was established in 1963 in a Federal Acquisition Regulation case involving a contractor named G.L. Christian & Associates. It mandates that the “Termination for Convenience” clause be considered present even if it was inadvertently or purposely omitted. Whether or not the contract in question is in the public interest is presumed to be the rule. Period.
To date, companies related to Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump have received federal contracts totaling over $3.2 billion which Democrats believe may not have been properly awarded. These contracts do not include the more than $50 billion given to companies who contributed to the costs of building Trump’s ballroom or the $38 billion awarded to Elon Musk companies that he might not have been awarded had he not contributed between $250 to $300 million to Trump’s re-election.
If any of these contracts are believed to have been awarded illegally, without due respect for long-established government contracting procedures designed to protect the public interest – and whether or not these contacts have been written to prevent their termination at the convenience of our government – there is nothing to stop a Democrat-controlled Congress from cancelling or at least suspending work pending the results of related investigations. Will Trump’s attorneys argue otherwise? Of course. Will their arguments prevail? Probably not. The scope of the Christian Doctrine is too broad and Trump’s rigging of the legal system in his favor doesn’t go deeply enough.
There’s nothing to stop a Democrat-controlled Congress… nothing except concern for the implications of contract suspension or outright termination for the families of Americans whose employment these contracts support. As for that problem, Congress will just have to do the right thing – and, in a manner of speaking, send Trump, his family and contributors the bill.
-Les Cohen
