The administration awarded a no-bid contract and initially cited $1.8 million as the cost. The number is now $13.1 million — a 628 percent jump with no competitive bidding and, so far, no congressional accountability mechanism forcing an explanation. No-bid contracts are the oldest trick in the executive-branch playbook for moving money without scrutiny; pairing one with a cost overrun of this magnitude is how waste becomes a structural habit. Watch whether Appropriations Committee Democrats demand a GAO audit — if they don't, this number quietly becomes the floor, not the ceiling.