Trump uses emergency powers to award secret no-bid monument contracts
- A $17 million Lafayette Park contract, inflated from a $4 million estimate, was awarded secretly with no competition.
- The administration handpicked a culvert specialist to paint the Reflecting Pool blue, ignoring leaking pipes.
- Trump claims a 100-year-old approval lets him build a 25-story arch, bypassing Congress.
The rulebook is gone. The Trump administration is using emergency exemptions and obscure historical approvals to push through costly renovations of Washington's monuments, rewarding a select group of contractors with secret, non-competitive deals.
The process for repairing fountains in Lafayette Park was declared an emergency to meet the July 4, 2026, anniversary deadline - a date known for centuries. This allowed a no-bid contract worth $17 million to go to Clark Construction, a firm also building Trump's private White House ballroom. Investigative reporter David Fahrenthold found the administration double-counted inflation to justify the price, which is over four times a pre-Trump estimate of $3-$4 million.
"The contract does not exist in public government spending databases."
David Fahrenthold, The Daily
The approach extends to the Reflecting Pool. The administration awarded a $13.1 million no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a highway culvert specialist with no federal or swimming pool experience. Park Service documents flagged its 20% overhead and 20% profit margins as excessive. The work will give the pool a dark blue finish per Trump's specifications but ignores the leaking underground pipes experts say need repair for a permanent fix.
"Trump claimed he hired his 'pool guy' from his golf clubs to fix it. Fahrenthold found the company has never worked for Trump."
David Fahrenthold, The Daily
The most audacious project is a 250-foot Triumphal Arch proposed for a lawn across from the Lincoln Memorial. Trump claims a dormant, century-old congressional approval for a similar, unbuilt structure lets him proceed without new oversight. Veterans and local representatives, like Congressman Don Beyer, call it a vanity project that would desecrate the view of Arlington National Cemetery. Beyer co-sponsored a bill to block it, though it's considered a long shot.
Fahrenthold argues this pattern - secret contracts, handpicked vendors, bypassed oversight - treats public parks as an extension of the White House grounds. Tradition holds that a president's legacy is judged by history long after they leave office. By building his own memorials now, Trump is attempting to cement his place in stone before any final public verdict.