{"id":635,"date":"2026-05-28T21:08:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=635"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:08:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:08:59","slug":"trump-dodges-rules-in-rush-to-douse-dc-horse-statues-with-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=635","title":{"rendered":"Trump dodges rules in rush to douse DC horse statues with gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s second term has been characterized by turmoil and vanity projects, and in the latter category, reports NOTUS<\/u>, he\u2019s now adding gold-coated statues. Specifically, the four massive bronze horses surrounding the Lincoln Memorial, which he\u2019s in a hurry to have caked in 23.75-karat gold leaf. According to NOTUS, the president has contracted an \u201cunusually thick layer of nearly pure gold \u2014 heavier and purer than even the \u2018extra-thick\u2019 gold<\/u>\u2026 used to refinish the exterior of the Wyoming state capital dome seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump pushing Republican senator to straight rebellion<\/a><\/p>\n

The horses were last restored in the 1970s, but now, \u201cThe Trump administration wants them glittering with a fresh coat of gold in time for America\u2019s 250th anniversary on July 4. So in mid-April, the National Park Service handed a $5 million contract<\/u> to a gilding studio in Maryland to repair the statues and cover them with a thick layer of 23.75-karat gold leaf\u2026 The $5 million contract includes more work than just the gold leafing, although the gold itself is certain to be a significant part of the cost, with the price of gold essentially doubling over the last several years.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to NOTUS, \u201cIt awarded the project without a full competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Trump has rushed to leave his mark on the city he has long denigrated, his tendency to hand out no-bid, low oversight contracts for millions upon millions of dollars, often to his associates, has been well documented. Per a NOTUS review of government spending data, \u201cIn total, the Interior Department is spending at least $95 million in taxpayer funds for new D.C. beautification projects.\u201d That does not include another $20 million in unreported contracts, including the four horses. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is within the realm of reason to say: It\u2019s the 250th anniversary that\u2019s coming up, and instead of spending a hundred million dollars we normally spend on the District of Columbia, we want to spend $250 million. That\u2019s perfectly normal,\u201d said one former General Services Administration official, making up the dollar amounts to illustrate their point. \u201cWhat is not normal is the lack of transparency.\u201d <\/p>\n

According to agency documents seen by NOTUS, \u201cThe park service did not do extensive market research on whether the $5 million price was a fair one.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more The markets are catching on to Trump\u2019s tampering: economist<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the urgent nature of this requirement, market research was limited to available historical data and publicizing a special notice to SAM.gov,\u201d the agency wrote in its award notice, which was posted online for just 6 days. <\/p>\n

And while the Interior Department claimed that the contracted studio \u201cis the only source capable of performing this requirement,\u201d gilding experts who spoke with NOTUS don\u2019t agree. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are others that are also qualified that were not contacted, which I\u2019m rather surprised about, because there\u2019s plenty of people that could also do the same quality work,\u201d said leading gold-leaf supplier Peter Sepp. <\/p>\n

According to NOTUS, “Several other contracting companies declined to comment, citing instructions from the NPS not to speak with the media. Multiple gilding experts declined to be named for fear of jeopardizing future relationships with the park service.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Get used to it\u2019: Economist says Republicans have \u2018bombed\u2019 the economy for years<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump\u2019s second term has been characterized by turmoil and vanity projects, and in the latter category, reports NOTUS, he\u2019s now adding gold-coated statues. Specifically, the four massive bronze horses surrounding the Lincoln Memorial, which he\u2019s in a hurry to have caked in 23.75-kara…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump dodges rules in rush to douse DC horse statues with gold - 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=635\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump dodges rules in rush to douse DC horse statues with gold - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump\u2019s second term has been characterized by turmoil and vanity projects, and in the latter category, reports NOTUS, he\u2019s now adding gold-coated statues. 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