Trump has also indicated he might ignore additional protections built into the law meant to keep Congress apprised of any concerns about mismanagement, issuing a signing statement that said it would be unconstitutional to require Executive Branch watchdogs to report any obstruction in their investigations, unless Trump himself approves.

Democratic lawmakers have pointed to Trump's actions as justification for their demands that the law include a series of powerful layers of oversight. Yet they haven't acknowledged that those mechanisms are not keeping pace with the rollout of the enormous law — even as members of both parties clamor to layer hundreds of billions of dollars more in emergency aid onto the original package.

In addition, every pillar of the $2 trillion package — from its portal to steer $350 billion to struggling small businesses to its desperately needed relief for airlines — has already run into significant roadblocks and unintended consequences that would be tailored for independent review.

Here's a look at where the CARES Act has begun to unfurl — or unravel — without the investigators ready to enforce protections or catch flaws in implementation.

Hospitals in crisis

CMS Administrator Seema Verma. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

The Department of Health and Human Services is slated to dole out $30 billion this week, with the bulk going to large hospitals that care for major shares of the country's Medicare patients — although details on this plan haven’t been released yet. An additional $70 billion is expected to flow in two additional tranches in the coming weeks.

But it’s not clear that the money is going to go where it’s needed most.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said on Tuesday night that there would be “no strings attached” to the $30 billion in checks going out within days, raising the prospect that the funds might not all be used as envisioned. Federal officials have acknowledged that speed was the most important factor in delivering the first batch of money — an effort to shore up shaky hospital finances as they became overrun with coronavirus-stricken patients.

In addition, the rapidly shifting coronavirus hot spots around the country could complicate HHS' overall efforts to target funds for hospitals. California, for example, was once expected to be an area of dire need for supplies, but the state has since seen improvements in its outlook. The sprawling HHS bureaucracy might not be nimble enough to shift gears when the geographic epicenter of the outbreak shifts as well, and there’s no one to hold them to account before the money gets disbursed.

Banks overwhelmed

Another key feature of the CARES Act is a $350 billion fund to shore up buckling small businesses with loans. Though the program was expected to be live already, it's unclear how much funding — if any — has gone out the door.

Yet, even without oversight of the program, and a growing crisis in its execution as businesses struggle to get loans from banks, Congress seems poised to send another $250 billion to the program in the coming days.