Someone must have the guts to say "No!"

[TomSlick]

12. Again, that's not how it works.

If the parties to a federal lawsuit reach a settlement, they file a stipulation of dismissal under Rule 41, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. At that point, the case is dismissed without the need for a court order. I have seen federal judges issue dismissal orders after a stipulation of dismissal but there is no provision under the Rule for the judge to go behind either the stipulation of dismissal or the settlement.

The biggest exception is class action lawsuits. A settlement of a federal class action lawsuit requires the approval of the judge under Rule 23(e), FRCP.

A judge must approve a settlement involving a minor to ensure the minor's interests are being protected.

The problem is that our judicial system assumes an adversarial relationship between the parties. With Trump on one side and Trump's DoJ on the other, the assumption fails. Trump can steal as much of the public fisc as the Trump DoJ will allow.