Trump’s Remaking
of D.C.
The ‘Triumphal Arch’
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Reflecting Pool
‘Massive’ Military Bunker
Treaty Room
Kennedy Center
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Firm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got a Secret No-Bid Contract for a Nearby Job
The National Park Service increased the value of the contract several times over and then awarded it to Maryland-based Clark Construction, in a process that experts said was highly unusual.
Construction at the site of two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington.
Credit...
Allison Robbert For The New York Times
Firm Building Trump’s Ballroom Got a Secret No-Bid Contract for a Nearby Job
The National Park Service increased the value of the contract several times over and then awarded it to Maryland-based Clark Construction, in a process that experts said was highly unusual.
Construction at the site of two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington.
Credit...
Allison Robbert For The New York Times
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By
David A. Fahrenthold
Luke Broadwater
and
Andrea Fuller
The reporters reviewed dozens of pages of documents about this contract and analyzed other contracts awarded for similar projects.
April 25, 2026
To build his mammoth White House ballroom, President Trump last summer chose Maryland-based Clark Construction. Since then, Mr. Trump has repeatedly sung the company’s praises, even saying he wanted it to refurbish projects all over Washington.
In January, government documents show, the Trump administration secretly gave the company a no-bid contract to do another job at a sharply inflated price.
The National Park Service wanted to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. The Biden administration in 2022 had estimated the work would cost $3.3 million. But Mr. Trump’s government agreed to pay Clark $11.9 million to do it, and later added tasks that increased the contract to $17.4 million, the documents show.
Fountain
Fountain
Lafayette Park
Significant construction
is already underway in the park
Pennsylvania Avenue
White
House
East Wing
The area under
construction extends
into the South Lawn
Fountain
Fountain
Lafayette Park
Significant construction
is already underway in the park
Pennsylvania Avenue
White
House
East Wing
The area under
construction extends
into the South Lawn
Source: Aerial image by Nearmap taken on March 20.
Leanne Abraham/The New York Times
The agency did so without considering offers from other firms, citing a rarely used “urgency” exception to normal open-bidding procedures usually meant for emergencies like war or natural disasters. By law, federal agencies are generally supposed to seek competing bids to find the vendor that provides the best deal.
Unlike the ballroom project, which Mr. Trump says will be funded by private donations, the bill for the fountain repairs is being paid by the government.
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