# What authority has Trump had for his "renovation" projects? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 8, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525 "2026-07-08T23:56:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/1 "2026-07-08T23:56:52Z")
Trump tore down the East Wing to build a ball room. He had a wrestling ring installed on the South Lawn. He had the Reflecting Pool repainted. Now he’s talking about chopping down the cherry trees to build a gold course. All of these things were federal property. I’m assuming that any random citizen can’t show up with a bulldozer and knock over the Washington Monument. So what are the laws designating federal property with historical significance as protected places? And what authority is needed to tear down a national monument? And did Trump seek and receive this permission, if such was needed? Trump also spent a lot of money on his “renovations”. Where did that money officially come from? Did Congress grant Trump permission to do these “renovations” and authorize payment? ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/2 "2026-07-09T00:33:55Z")
I’ll focus solely on the East Wing. I’ll also assume President/Trump and Executive branch are interchangeable. They are not, but pretty much are in this administration. Congress needs to approve. Congress can delegate its authority to approve to various executive agencies. If it costs money, Congress would authorize and appropriate it. President claims Congress did authorize it via existing statute that delegates to executive to “maintain” (and a bunch of other words like that) the White House. Opposition claims tearing down and rebuilding something different is not maintaining. It’s currently being litigated. It’s not clear where money came from. Obviously nothing authorized specifically for this renovation. Some private and pulling from other executive agencies has been reported. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/3 "2026-07-09T01:14:02Z")
> [@CoolHandCox](#): > > President claims Congress did authorize it via existing statute that delegates to executive to “maintain” (and a bunch of other words like that) the White House. With regards to the White House “renovations”, it appears that a lot of the money is coming from the National Park Services even though Trump has stated that he is paying for these things himself. > [@](#): > > The pathway that connects the White House residence to the Oval Office has long been paved in Tennessee flagstone. Every president since Harry Truman made the 45-second commute, and made it without complaint, until Donald Trump. The dun rock would not do. Instead, Trump wanted polished African granite, carved in Italy, with a flamed-finish stripe—slightly raised, to prevent slips—running down the middle. As workers tore up the flagstone in March, a [reporter asked](https://archive.ph/o/0BmNP/https://x.com/edokeefe/status/2036527006788030699) Trump who was paying for the enhancements. “Paid for by me,” he replied. > > But that was not true. Budget documents from the National Park Service that I obtained show that the walkway replacement cost taxpayers $689,232, and is part of a $1.3 million project that included repairing adjacent stone and masonry and providing new hardware for nearby doors. A year earlier, in a separate “Rush project at request of POTUS,” the Park Service spent $347,503 to remove and replace the stucco on the colonnade wall, a project that cleared the way for Trump to affix gold frames and plaques mocking some of his predecessors. This is a good article about how money is being transferred from the Park Services to D.C. to pay for Trump’s vanity projects. [‘Rush Project at Request of POTUS’: Trump Is Draining the National Parks to Pay for His Projects - The Atlantic](https://archive.ph/0BmNP#selection-783.22-783.540) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/4 "2026-07-09T21:10:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > chopping down the cherry trees to build a gold course. Entirely subconscious finger-slip, I presume. He seems most eager to make changes that would be difficult or take a long time to reverse. I mean, how old are those cherry trees? Is a giant new East Wing replacement thing likely to be torn down? It won’t be a big priority of a new D admin anyway, there are much more important things that they should focus on. So he wins again. And he has two+ more years to do this shit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/5 "2026-07-09T21:15:23Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Entirely subconscious finger-slip, I presume. My fingers have a mind of their own sometimes. Trump’s planning on building a golf course. > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I mean, how old are those cherry trees? They were a diplomatic gift from Japan in 1912. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/6 "2026-07-09T21:20:08Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > It won’t be a big priority of a new D admin anyway, there are much more important things that they should focus on. This thread was prompted by a news story I heard about two guys who decided to build a motorbike trail in a state owned nature preserve. When they were discovered they were forced to pay for the restoration of the land. I’m wondering if a similar possibility exists for Trump after he leaves office. I’d love to see him brought to court and forced to pay restitution for his unauthorized vandalism of government monuments. Especially if it involves federal marshals evicting him from Mar-a-Lago. ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/7 "2026-07-09T22:01:44Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > With regards to the White House “renovations”, it appears that a lot of the money is coming from the National Park Services even though Trump has stated that he is paying for these things himself. National Park Services is a proper/expected place where the money would come from, if this was all done properly. The National Park Service maintains the White House. Per [NPS](https://www.nps.gov/whho/index.htm): “_The White House is owned by the American people and stewarded by the National Park Service_.” It’s not clear to me if money was donated to NPS for this project or not. I would certainly guess not, but I don’t know. Regardless, the role delegated by Congress to NPS is to maintain the White House. Not demolish and renovate. For that, you’d need congressional approval. It’s owned by the American people, not Trump. Not NPS. The American people elect representatives to decide these things. The lawsuit to stop construction on/prevent reno of the East Wing is against Trump & NPS (and others Dept of Interior officials). They did not get congressional authority nor go through proper channels before starting construction. _They_ just did it. NPS had no interest in being a gatekeeper or anything but a rubber stamp. \*\*_NPS solely maintaining the WH is over-simplified. They do, but secret service has a role in providing a secure building; Dept of Defense in providing a hardened builiding/Defense, etc. as do several other entities and they would pay/contribute for that stuff_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/8 "2026-07-10T03:02:13Z")
This thread just took on some unexpected topicality as tarps were put up covering the front of the White House. Some staffers are claiming this is just for minor maintenance. Other people are speculating Trump has ordered the replacement of the columns to the fancier ones he likes. My guess is that he’s putting up his name that he was ordered to remove from the Kennedy Center. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/9 "2026-07-10T05:55:25Z")
Trump tower should be seized and auctioned off to pay for the restoration of the White House and any other historical landmark that Diaper Boy has wantonly vandalized. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/10 "2026-07-10T11:31:35Z")
I like it. Mar-A-Lago too. I supose the land is worth something. To turn it into a resort it would have to be de-Trumpified of all of his gaudy crap. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/11 "2026-07-10T12:47:52Z")
The MAGA Senate and his worthless Cabinet just want him to be happy. Every one of them has their own reason for propping this monster up. And every one of them know he’s an addled fuck. Start wars, waste money on vanity projects, use the military to produce his snuff films. As long as he’s healthy enough to put his seismographic signature where they want it they’re fine with it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-authority-has-trump-had-for-his-renovation-projects/1031525/12 "2026-07-10T12:50:09Z")
Authority? I think that Trump believes that laws don’t apply to Him. I think He fancies himself King. Thus, all of the money belongs to Him, personally, and He can do whatever He wants. As **CoohHandCox** posted, He can provide a fig leaf through claiming that Congress gave up their oversight.