US EditionFirm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got Secret No-Bid Contract
The National Park Service bypassed open bidding and raised the fountain repair price from a 2022 estimate of $3.3 million to $17.4 million.
- The National Park Service awarded Maryland-based Clark Construction a secret, no-bid $17.4 million contract to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park, near the White House.
- Officials cited a rarely used "Urgency" exception to bypass competitive bidding, a procedure usually reserved for war or natural disasters, while agreeing to pay $17.4 million for work the Biden administration estimated at $3.3 million.
- Independent consultant Stephen J. Kirk questioned the $17.4 million price, noting officials "added a bunch of money" to his 2022 estimate; Dominic Shaw of Waterline Studios added the fountains are at the "bottom" of the list regarding repair complexity.
- Unlike President Donald Trump's $400 million ballroom project funded by private donations, taxpayers are paying for these fountain repairs; the New York Times reported the administration failed to post the contract in public databases within required timeframes.
- This month, Judge Richard Leon issued a clarification blocking Trump from "taking any action in furtherance of the physical development" of his 90,000-square-foot entertainment space, emphasizing Trump acts as "the steward of the White House," not the owner.
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Admin broke law to hand over millions in taxpayer funds for new construction project: NYT
President Donald Trump's administration handed millions in taxpayer funds to a company already working on a White House refurbishment, a report has shown. Trump chose the Maryland-based Clark Construction to build his $400 million ballroom, but an investigation from the New York Times exposed a sepa...
Trump Slams NY Times for Report on ‘No-Bid’ Deal for Company Building Ballroom: Paper ‘Should Congratulate Us, Instead of Trying to Make Us Look Bad’
Trump went off on The New York Times for a report he "secretly gave" Clark Construction — the company building his ballroom — a "no bid" deal on another project
Firm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got Secret No-Bid Contract
“To build his mammoth White House ballroom, President Trump last summer chose Maryland-based Clark Construction. Since then, Mr. Trump has repeatedly sung the company’s praises, even saying he wanted it to refurbish projects all over Washington,” the New York Times reports.“In January, g
Legal structure allows private donations of hundreds of millions of dollars and raises doubts about transparency and power of influence over the government acquired by donors
Trump admin just handed ballroom firm another secret $17 million no-bid contract
In a “highly unusual” move, the contractor behind the construction of President Donald Trump’s ballroom got a monetary boost from the National Park Service.The New York Times reports that Maryland-based Clark Construction not only nabbed a secret no-bid contract for a nearby job, but the National Park Service under Trump inflated the value of the contract several times over before awarding it to them. The additional work involves construction at…
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