Trump is drowning DC in shady no-bid contracts: report

MS NOW analyst Steve Benen said if there’s any kind of phrase for the overpriced corruption plaguing DC under the second Trump administration it would probably contain the words “no bid.”

“Those looking for a simple phrase to help summarize Donald Trump’s second term could do worse than ‘no-bid contract.’ 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,” said Benen. “Reflecting 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.

And now comes Trump’s White House ballroom project — formerly a $200 million project allegedly funded by Trump’s allies and financiers but now but now creeping up to a $500 million hulk.

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.

According to the Post, Trump was “directly involved” 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’s ballroom through this office, which appears to exempt it from rules “that require federal agencies to solicit competitive bids and disclose details to the public.”

“So let’s take stock,” said Benen. “Trump destroyed the East Wing after saying he wouldn’t. He said the ballroom would cost $200 million and taxpayers wouldn’t 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’s costs. It’s 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.”

Benen cited a New Republic argument that, “The 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’s capital.”

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