Report: Ballroom Builder Given Secret, Swelling Contract

The company building a 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House also quietly landed a lucrative nearby job, whose costs suddenly ballooned, reports the New York Times. Clark Construction, the Maryland firm President Trump has publicly praised and suggested might work on projects across Washington, was handed a no-bid National Park Service contract in January to repair two fountains in Lafayette Park north of the White House—at a price that jumped from an earlier $3.3 million government estimate under President Biden to $17.4 million under Trump. Unlike the privately funded ballroom, taxpayers are footing the bill for the park work.

According to the Times, officials invoked a rarely used "urgency" exception normally reserved for true emergencies to steer the deal to Clark, then repeatedly ratcheted up cost estimates with what experts called unusual inflation and "schedule compression" add-ons. The contract was not disclosed in public federal spending databases, as is typically required, even as Trump publicly claimed credit on social media for "funding" the fountain repairs. Interior Department officials insist the procurement was proper and tied to preparing for America's 250th birthday this year. For the full document trail and contracting experts' critiques, read the detailed investigation at the Times.