Donald Trump Accused Of ‘Using Executive Power’ To ‘Reshape Washington’ With Construction Projects
Donald Trump has been accused of “using executive power” to “reshape Washington” with several unprecedented construction projects.
Some of those projects, like the proposed White House ballroom, estimated at a whopping $400 million, have been subject to several court injunctions.
However, the Justice Department has argued that only Congress has the power to stop the ballroom, as the Supreme Court recently cleared him to continue with the project.
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As President of the United States, Donald Trump serves as the head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces.
It doesn’t mean he gets to do whatever he pleases, as the U.S. Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, exists to make federal laws, control government spending, and check the president’s power, among other roles.
In October last year, during a dinner honoring the Ballroom donors, he teased that he might be testing the boundaries of his power, as his aides told him he could do just about anything he liked.
“They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States. You can do anything you want,’” the President said at the time, per Reuters.
Trump Is Accused Of Using Executive Power To Reshape Washington
3However, Trump has been accused of using legal loopholes and executive power to reshape Washington through several unprecedented construction and renovation projects, according to the Washington Post.
Within a week of making that remark, he tore down the East Wing of the White House to construct the monumental Ballroom.
Since then, he has drained and carried out a shabby remodeling of the Reflecting Pool, cut down trees in federal parks, announced plans for a triumphal arch, effected now-reverted changes to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and carried out the construction of a new helipad at the White House, among other projects.
The real estate mogul has often ignored outraged Democrats in Congress, remade expert panels, and always seemed to be steps ahead of the courts, as in the case of the Reflecting Pool, which he completed just as a federal judge deliberated on whether to halt it.
Supreme Court Hands Trump A Major Legal Win
3It remains to be seen whether anyone can legally stop him, especially regarding the construction of the Ballroom. Some of his projects have faced court actions and lawsuits from several groups, but the billionaire politician seems to be having the last laugh.
The Justice Department maintains that only Congress can stop the Ballroom, but officials have argued that they, too, have given in by earmarking several million dollars for annual White House “improvements.”
Stopping it will mean they have to enact new legislation, something the Republican leadership doesn’t seem enthusiastic about.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation tried to stop it through a court action, but the Supreme Court allowed construction to proceed, ruling that preservationists who brought the case had not suffered the direct personal harm required to bring a lawsuit.
“We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.,” the President wrote on Truth Social after the ruling.
Trump’s Landmark Changes Go Beyond The White House
3Trump’s remodeling efforts have not been limited to landmarks in Washington. He has undertaken a host of name changes of places since he began his non-consecutive second tenure.
On his first day back in office, he signed an executive order titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” Business Insider.
The move prompted the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and of Alaska’s Denali, the highest mountain in North America, to its former federal name, “Mount McKinley.”
The Trump administration has also overturned the name changes made by former President Joe Biden in 2023 to several Army bases, including Fort Walker, Fort Benning, Fort Pickett, Fort Lee, Fort Gordon, Fort Hood, Fort Polk, Fort Rucker, and Fort Bragg.
Donald Trump Renames Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’
More recently, he signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America” amid tensions with Canada.
During the event, held last Thursday, he told reporters that he’d been thinking about it for some time and teased the possibility of renaming other great bodies of water.
“We have a gulf, and we have a lake. Now all we need is an ocean,” Trump said. “So maybe we’ll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific. Maybe we’ll change them both.”
Both Google and Apple Maps have updated their platforms to reflect the new name for users in the U.S., while those outside the U.S. see both names displayed. Meanwhile, users in Canada continue to see “Lake Ontario.”
