The flurry of changes underway across Washington’s public spaces is becoming part of the political argument over who gets to decide what the nation’s capital looks like—and how quickly.
In recent days, President Donald Trump has ordered and promoted multiple projects, including a repainting of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool that he has described as a “American flag blue” color, according to Associated Press reporting. The initiative drew attention as Trump was also weighing other developments around the city, from White House construction plans to potential changes at an East Potomac Park golf course that has long been an affordable public option.
The Reflecting Pool work came after Trump made a quick trip to the National Mall to review the pool shortly after the United States and Iran exchanged fire on Thursday, the report said. During an hour-plus speech Monday to small-business owners, Trump spent about nine minutes describing the paint job, detailing the granite floor and saying he had reduced the renovation’s cost to $1.9 million from an estimate he described as initially $350 million.
Trump’s next pitch, the report said, could be East Potomac Park, where an affordable, accessible public golf course offers views of the Washington Monument. Republicans have discussed turning the course into a posh facility, and the report said that signs were posted this week warning of disruptions as preservation advocates continued pursuing legal action over the golf course’s planned takeover. The dispute has included claims that debris dumped there from the White House East Wing demolition tested positive for lead.
By late Friday, the nonprofit operating the course said it would continue managing the space until the National Park Service begins what it called a “historic restoration,” the report said.
The broader theme is Trump’s expanding imprint on the city—moves preservationists describe as unusually forceful and fast-moving. The report said Trump has bulldozed the East Wing over the past year to make way for a ballroom, has had his name added to the facades of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center (which he plans to close for a two-year renovation), and has pushed for a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery while closing parks including Lafayette Square across from the White House for rehabilitation.
In the background, courts and politics are also colliding with the projects. While a federal judge considering the future of an expansive Washington park insisted she had no intention of becoming Amy Poehler’s on-screen “parks and recreation” department head, the story suggested Trump might be interested in such a role. The report also quoted presidential historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University discussing how Trump’s priorities fit into the limits of presidential “capital” and “attention” in a moment of war and economic instability.
The question of priorities has played out even as White House allies sought to frame the projects as part of broader themes. When asked at the Reflecting Pool why he was focused on the project given U.S. military action in Iran, Trump said: “Our country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital.”
Republicans defending slim congressional majorities have faced pressure to address cost-of-living concerns rather than construction projects. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was quoted saying, “A lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it.” A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted in late April found that 52% of Americans oppose Trump’s planned arch, with about 6 in 10 independents opposing it. The poll also found about 51% of Republicans favor the arch. On the ballroom, Americans oppose the project by a 2-to-1 margin, driven largely by Democrats and independents, and about 2 in 10 Republicans oppose it, the report said.
The preservation stakes are also drawing attention from groups that have worked across administrations. Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, which sued to stop a golf course takeover and joined a coalition attempting to force the Kennedy Center to comply with preservation laws, said the Trump moves are “highly unusual.” Miller said: “One of the problems that we have right now is an administration that seems to think that it can just plow ahead without any input,” adding, “These assets are owned by the people of the United States. They’re not anybody’s personal portfolio.”
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump is “laser-focused on lowering costs for working families, deporting illegal criminals, keeping our cities safe, beautifying our nation’s capital, and protecting our national security by ensuring Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon all at the same time.”
The report also placed today’s disputes in a longer Washington tradition of reshaping the capital. It noted that during Lyndon Johnson’s administration, first lady Lady Bird Johnson oversaw beautification efforts that included planting trees and flowers throughout the District. Mark Updegrove, chairman of the LBJ Foundation and a presidential historian, was quoted saying, “Lady Bird Johnson was trying to bring out the natural beauty of Washington,” while “Donald Trump is trying to remake the nation’s capital in his own image.”
As Trump’s assertion of power over Washington has animated local politics, a forum for mayoral candidates focused on protecting the Home Rule Act, a 1973 law that gave the city limited self-government, according to the report. Candidates said they would stand up to Trump as needed, and one contender, Vincent Orange, said national Democrats had also failed the district in the past. Janeese Lewis George, a D.C. Council member and top candidate in the mayor’s race, said city officials need to do a better job making their case in Congress for statehood, and referred to troop deployments as a “federal occupation.” A Virginia Republican, Tom Davis, who often supported the city’s autonomy as a congressman, said the renovations offer an “opportunity to bring some money into the city and spruce up stuff that you wouldn’t have had otherwise,” but said, “But this is tough,” adding, “This is not a city that is in love with the president.”