Washington– A federal judge is weighing the future of Washington’s expansive park He insisted this week She had no intention of becoming Amy Poehlerthe actress who spent seven seasons memorably playing the head of the local parks and recreation department.
But the president Donald Trump You might be interested in this role.
Shortly after The United States and Iran exchanged fire On Thursday, Trump made a quick trip to the National Mall Check out the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool He ordered it to be repainted a color he described as “American flag blue.”
The project has been on his mind lately. During a speech lasting more than an hour Monday to small business owners, Trump spent about nine minutes talking about the paint job, detailing the granite floor, and boasted that he had reduced the cost of the renovation to $1.9 million from what he said was an initial estimate of $350 million.
Trump’s next project could be East Potomac Park, which includes an affordable and accessible public golf course overlooking the Washington Monument.
The Republican president spoke of turning it into a “luxury American-caliber open course.” Signs were posted this week warning of the disruption, and government preservation advocates filed a lawsuit in court as debris was dumped there from the demolition of the White House’s East Wing. Tested positive For lead.
By late Friday, The non-profit organization running the course She said she will continue to manage the space until the National Park Service begins a “historic restoration process.”
Meanwhile, the White House told the planning agency it would do so It costs taxpayers at least $7.5 million To follow Trump’s plan to paint granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building white.
And that was just this week in the dramatic transformation that Washington has witnessed.
Over the past year, Trump has done just that The east wing was swept away To make room for the dance floor. His name has been added to the interfaces US Institute of Peace and Kennedy Centerwhich he plans to close for a while Two-year renewal. His face adorns the sign in Ministry of Justice Headquarters, among others. He’s pushing for a Arc de Triomphe Nearby Arlington Cemetery and parks, including Lafayette Square across from the White House, were closed for rehabilitation.
Trump is ensuring himself a lasting mark on the city where he won just 6.5% of the vote in 2024. He is flexing extraordinary executive powers and offering a new vision for how he spends his time, which is perhaps the president’s most valuable asset.
As Washington’s projects unfolded this week, a ceasefire was reached Iran The AAA auto club was in danger of collapsing, saying the average price of a gallon of gasoline had topped $4.50, and the election offered new evidence of Democratic enthusiasm ahead of the November election.
“It’s not a zero-sum game, but clearly all presidents have a limited amount of capital that they can use, and a limited amount of attention that they have to give,” said presidential historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University. “He decides, in a moment of war, or a moment of economic instability, that this is the priority.”
Trump rejects such concerns.
When asked on The Reflecting Pool why he focused on the project in light of US military action in Iran, he said: “Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety and great people. Not a dirty capital city.”
As for Republicans defending the slim majority in Congress, the matter is not so simple. Many prefer to talk about policy achievements, including tax cuts, rather than multi-million dollar construction projects in Washington.
Although few people criticize Trump directly, there is recognition that the party needs to confront economic realities.
“A lot of Americans are very concerned about the cost of living, and we have to address it,” the Republican senator said. John KennedyR-LA, said recently.
A Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos poll conducted in late April showed that 52% of Americans opposed Trump’s planned arch. This includes about 6 in 10 freelancers. About 51% of Republicans support this.
Americans oppose ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, driven largely by Democrats and independents. According to the poll, about 2 in 10 Republicans oppose the project. The poll found no noticeable shift in Hall’s support after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month. Trump has cited this incident in his push to create a secure facility, something he did not mention when he initially ordered the demolition of the East Wing.
Trump shows no sign of backing down from any of the projects. In a sign of the Republican Party’s loyalty to him, Republican Senators He added $1 billion In the White House security upgrades for the ballroom with an unrelated bill this week. Trump initially said no taxpayer money would be needed.
In a city where historic preservation is often considered sacrosanct, the pace of change has been dizzying.
Rebecca Miller, executive director of the Metropolitan Preservation League, spent 23 years with the organization, which filed a lawsuit to stop the takeover of the golf course and joined a coalition trying to force the Kennedy Center to comply with environmental preservation laws. She said her organization worked with administrations of both parties and called Trump’s moves “highly unusual.”
“One of the problems we have now is an administration that seems to think it can move forward without any input,” she said. “These assets belong to the people of the United States. They are not anyone’s personal wallet.”
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump “is laser-focused on cutting costs for working families, deporting illegal criminals, keeping our cities safe, beautifying our nation’s capital, and protecting our national security by ensuring that Iran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon at the same time.”
This is not the first time that the White House has been concerned with Washington’s appearance.
during Lyndon Johnson During the administration, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson oversaw beautification efforts that included planting trees and flowers throughout the District of Columbia.
Its efforts have sometimes been derided as distractions from other pressing issues, such as the refugee crisis Vietnam War. But it was implemented in coordination with local officials.
“Lady Bird Johnson was trying to highlight the natural beauty of Washington,” said Mark Updegrove, president of the LBJ Foundation and a presidential historian. “Donald Trump is trying to remake the nation’s capital in his own image.”
Trump’s assertion of his authority over Washington, incl Continued deployment of the National Guard US troops have energized the city’s Democratic primaries next month for key local offices, including mayor and congressional delegate.
The first question at a forum for mayoral candidates this week focused on how to protect… House rules codea 1973 law that gave the city limited autonomy. The candidates said they would stand up to Trump as needed, though one challenger, Vincent Orange, noted that national Democrats had also failed in the district.
“The two times we had the opportunity for statehood, it was the Democrats who let us down,” he said, referring to failed attempts by Congress to make the city a state with full representation rights.
In an interview, Janez Lewis George, a D.C. Councilwoman and front-runner in the mayor’s race, said city officials need to do a better job of making their case in Congress for statehood. Trump’s impact on the city is broader than the renovations, she said, referring to the troop deployment as a “federal occupation” and noting the fallout from immigration enforcement activity and federal workforce reductions.
“The people of our city are afraid,” she said. “It is the mayor’s job to let the nation know that D.C. has been left uniquely vulnerable.”
Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican who often supported city self-government when he was a congressman, said the renovations provide “an opportunity to bring some money into the city and beautify things that it wouldn’t have otherwise.”
“But this is difficult,” he added. “This is not a city that likes the president.”
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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.