{"id":2528,"date":"2026-06-30T23:37:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2528"},"modified":"2026-06-30T23:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:37:53","slug":"trump-is-drowning-dc-in-shady-no-bid-contracts-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2528","title":{"rendered":"Trump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MS NOW analyst Steve Benen said if there\u2019s any kind of phrase for the overpriced corruption plaguing DC under the second Trump administration it would probably contain the words \u201cno bid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump official\u2019s wife lashes out after Michelle Obama bans her from HBO show<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThose looking for a simple phrase to help summarize Donald Trump\u2019s second term could do worse than \u2018no-bid contract.\u2019 Indeed, it has been difficult to keep up on all of the assorted projects championed by the president that have bypassed the normal bidding process the federal government has relied on for many years,\u201d said Benen. \u201cReflecting Pool renovations? No-bid contract. Applying gold-toned coating to horse statues by the Lincoln Memorial? No-bid contract. Repairing ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park? No-bid contract.<\/p>\n

And now comes Trump\u2019s White House ballroom project \u2014 formerly a $200 million project allegedly funded by Trump\u2019s allies and financiers but now but now creeping up to a $500 million hulk.<\/p>\n

That, too, is now a no-bid contract, said Benen, even as its price keeps growing, according to a report from The Washington Post. The confidential contract went to Maryland-based Clark Construction, the same company Benen said Trump also awarded a no-bid contract to for the Lafayette Park project.<\/p>\n

Read more Supercut lays bare Fox News denying the obvious truth about Trump\u2019s State Fair<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Post, Trump was \u201cdirectly involved\u201d in negotiating project details, using the White House budget for Office of the Executive Residence, which Benen said typically covers spending on things like furniture and routine repairs. But according to the documents obtained by the Post, Trump routed a massive no-bid contract for the president\u2019s ballroom through this office, which appears to exempt it from rules \u201cthat require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo let\u2019s take stock,\u201d said Benen. \u201cTrump destroyed the East Wing after saying he wouldn\u2019t. He said the ballroom would cost $200 million and taxpayers wouldn\u2019t have to pay a dime, only to have the price tag balloon, with evidence showing taxpayers on the hook for more than half the project\u2019s costs. It\u2019s against this backdrop that the Post reported that Trump also personally helped negotiate the terms of a no-bid contract for a business he likes, running it through an office that allowed him to circumvent competitive contract rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benen cited a New Republic argument that, \u201cThe lack of a bidding process means that the government, and by extension, taxpayers, could easily be overcharged by contractors, and the rushed projects mean that the work could be shoddy and cause permanent damage to important landmarks in the nation\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Republicans can\u2019t escape the \u2018creeping panic\u2019 Trump is laying on them: report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MS NOW analyst Steve Benen said if there\u2019s any kind of phrase for the overpriced corruption plaguing DC under the second Trump administration it would probably contain the words \u201cno bid.\u201d\u201cThose looking for a simple phrase to help summarize Donald Trump\u2019s second term could do worse than \u2018no-bid contr…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"MS NOW analyst Steve Benen said if there\u2019s any kind of phrase for the overpriced corruption plaguing DC under the second Trump administration it would probably contain the words \u201cno bid.\u201d\u201cThose looking for a simple phrase to help summarize Donald Trump\u2019s second term could do worse than \u2018no-bid contr...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2528\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-30T23:37:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Trump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-30T23:37:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528\"},\"wordCount\":472,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c6184fb250f8ae492b1eedd07d888295.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2528\",\"name\":\"Trump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report - 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