Democrats aim to block Trump's D.C. projects through budget cuts
Lawmakers plan to use funding restrictions and oversight to challenge the arch and ballroom construction before a Dec. 11 deadline.
By Simon Bennett ·
Democratic lawmakers in Congress intend to restrict federal spending to halt several major construction projects in Washington, D.C., including a triumphal arch and a White House ballroom. These initiatives have advanced rapidly under President Trump's second term, often without prior approval from the legislative branch.
The administration has completed demolition of the White House East Wing and removed hundreds of trees at East Potomac Park. Trump declared the gilded Oval Office a national monument via executive order, a move that can be reversed by a future president but is part of a larger strategy to alter the capital's physical infrastructure.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, stated that the administration has moved projects forward with "bulldozers and the tree cutters" while waiting for courts to intervene. He sent letters this week requiring officials and private companies to preserve records for future investigations. Huffman noted that federal land changes require statutory authorization, which the administration has bypassed for many projects.
Experts indicate that legislation is unlikely to succeed due to the president's threat to veto bills and the Democrats' lack of a supermajority. Instead, the focus shifts to the power of the purse. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, top Democrat on the House committee overseeing Interior Department funding, said Congress can write appropriations bills with specific language limiting where money can be spent.
The immediate deadline for these actions is Dec. 11, when Congress must pass a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown. Huffman has proposed language to block funds for the East Potomac golf course renovations, directing those resources toward repairing the park's seawall instead. Pingree plans to negotiate this provision into the upcoming bill.
Beyond funding, Democrats plan to use oversight hearings to scrutinize the decision-making processes of the Kennedy Center board and the financial flows for the ballroom. Professor Claire Leavitt of Smith College noted that while Congress cannot easily stop a determined president, it can draw public attention to potential corruption and misuse of taxpayer dollars. The administration has warned that these investigations could constitute criminality, prompting Huffman to say the new Congress will need strategies that prior bodies never imagined.
