https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-27-2026
"Observers are noting that the reflecting pool fiasco, in which Trump created
the idea there was an emergency, ignored experts, bypassed normal procedures to
give a wildly inflated contract to a crony, bragged about his success, ignored
the problems, claimed his enemies had sabotaged him, and finally stationed
troops around the landmark he had turned into a swamp, represents the Trump
administration perfectly.
But a report by Michael Scherer of
The Atlantic about Trump’s remodeling of
the West Colonnade is perhaps an even better representation of the Trump
presidency. In March, Trump tore up the light brown Tennessee flagstone that
paved the walkway in the West Colonnade that connects the White House residence
to the Oval Office and replaced it with polished black African granite carved
in Italy. When a reporter asked Trump who was paying for the remodeling, Trump
answered: “Paid for by me.”
But, as Scherer discovered, that was a lie. He examined National Park Service
budget documents showing that the walkway replacement cost taxpayers $689,232,
all part of a $1.3 million project that includes new hardware for nearby doors.
Last year, Scherer reports, the National Park Service spent $347,503 to replace
the stucco on the colonnade wall so Trump could hang pictures of the U.S.
presidents alongside plaques featuring his own opinions of them. Documents say
the project was a “Rush project at request of POTUS.”
Scherer explains that Trump has redirected taxpayer money from national parks
around the country to his own projects, leaving the parks unable to make needed
repairs or hire staff. Expected funding for more than 900 Park Service projects
never arrived—including $424,000 to replace a guardrail on the edge of a cliff
in Colorado’s Gunnison National Park that National Park Service employees
identified as “a significant safety hazard for visitors.” For some parks,
nearly 70% of approved funds have been pulled back.
Trump has also pulled National Park Service staff to Washington, D.C., for his
Freedom 250 events, a crisis because the Park Service has lost almost a quarter
of its staff since he took office. In his 2027 budget, Trump calls for cutting
staff by another 3,967 full-time employees, or 31%.
That budget also asked for another $10 billion to beautify Washington, a sum
that Scherer notes is nearly eight times as large as all the money spent on
National Park Service projects in 2025. The Senate Appropriations Committee
stripped that request out of its marked-up version of the president’s budget."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
