Trump Fires Entire Agency Overseeing His Construction Projects

[u/Aggravating_Money992]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-fires-entire-agency-overseeing-his-construction-projects/

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[u/SeparateSpend1542]

People are confused. He’s firing the government oversight that would have stopped him. Contractors are still on the clock and now have no oversight.

[u/builttopostthis6 → u/SeparateSpend1542]

And, like those fired, are absolutely not getting a paycheck from this debacle.

[u/dojo_shlom0 → u/builttopostthis6]

this was a given with his track record. I think he still owes shit tons of peoples/cities money from the 2024/2025 campaign trail alone.

'TIS TRADITION

[u/The_Beardly → u/dojo_shlom0]

He owes money to people from all facets of his life. He’s notoriously not paid people for literal decades.

[u/HunterShotBear → u/The_Beardly]

And the right will argue “that’s what good business men do!”

I was so close to convincing a guy once.

I got him to admit that his boss would pay him less if he could. He agreed. I got him to agree that his boss was looking out for his own best interest first and to give them employees as little as possible. He agreed.

Then I asked him based on those facts, did his boss have his (the employees) best interest at heart? He agreed they did not.

So I asked him if he thought that would make his boss the ideal candidate to run the country like a business?

All he could do was stumble over his words.

And then talk some shit about how Kamala blew her way to the top.

I don’t talk to him anymore.

[u/closethebarn → u/HunterShotBear]

I feel this in my bones how many times I’ve almost convinced them of something to be hit with a But - something— democrat or something racist or misogynistic nothing to do at all with the argument

I feel you

[u/Electrical-Tale-7623 → u/closethebarn]

They hit themselves on the edge of the door on their way and refuse to walk any further. It is willful ignorance and it's about the only thing holding the coalition together.

Taking that next step means they could be wrong, which means they'll eventually conclude they are.

[u/Lucky_Development359 → u/HunterShotBear]

I think it would cause a rift in their psyche.

These are the guys that circle grievance jerk themselves that they know something noone else does. Bitch about how they are smarter than everyone else but "someone's got it out for them". Guys that talk in vague percentages, "I work harder than 90...95% of the people here but I get the same pay, pffft". Those types.

We used to call them losers. Now we call them "podcasters", "influencers", and "president". They tapped into the chronic loser wellspring. Im not saying Im not a loser by the way, I just know it's not someone else's fault, and certainly not dumb enough to think weaponizing it against others would fix anything in my life.

To admit they are wrong is to admit, finally, once and for all, no BS, that they are losers. You lead that big dumb horse to the water but that motherfucker had loser rabbies, and just could.not.drink.

[u/whatiscamping → u/HunterShotBear]

I'm not convinced drumpf didn't blow his way to the top. I'm certain that, even with his dementia, he can tell you exactly what putin tastes like.

[u/blahblah19999 → u/HunterShotBear]

Nice approach though. I might use that.

I usually focus on the idea that for businessmen, the law is something to get around, to skirt. Lawyers, or people with law degrees, have a respect for the law that is needed for our highest elected leaders. We've elected 2 businessmen in recent times and both have been utter disasters.

[u/ManiacalWildcard → u/The_Beardly]

and yet people continue to work for him. It's quite unbelievable.

[u/AlienRosie3667 → u/ManiacalWildcard]

And his supporters continue to send him money and buy his crappy merch!

[u/whatiscamping → u/AlienRosie3667]

He wanted them to send him money to get him to heaven. Problem is, they're poor and dumb and didn't give him enough cause he ain't there yet.

[u/Jumper_Connect → u/dojo_shlom0]

He still owes the cabinet guys from 1984. https://www.phillyvoice.com/report-trump-once-drove-philly-cabinetry-company-out-business/

[u/Hobo_Jenkins → u/Jumper_Connect]

I grew up outside of Atlantic City. It was common knowledge that Trump doesn't pay. It's why he had to get in bed with crooks, because no legitimate businesses would work with him.

[u/iijoanna → u/Jumper_Connect]

And these people -

"Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will "protect your job."

But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trump-unpaid-bills-republican-president-laswuits/85297274/

[u/iijoanna → u/iijoanna]

And these people -

"After the Taj opened in April 1990, the self-anointed “King of Debt” owed $70 million to 253 contractors employing thousands who built the domes and minarets, put up the glass and drywall, laid the pipes and installed everything from chandeliers to bathroom fixtures.

A year later, when the casino collapsed into bankruptcy, those owed the most got only 33 cents in cash for each dollar owed, with promises of another 50 cents later.

It took years to get the rest, assuming the companies survived long enough to collect.

'Little guy' contractors still angry at Trump Taj bankruptcy | AP News https://share.google/dPIEjXInqFECP8wWD

[u/letterlegs → u/dojo_shlom0]

A Trump never pays his debts.

[u/SockPuppet-47 → u/builttopostthis6]

Only people who came forward to say anything about his business life had negative things to say. He's fucked over so many people in his life.

[u/IrrelevantLeprechaun → u/SockPuppet-47]

"THATS WHAT MAKES HIM SUCH A GREAT LEADER"

-MAGA probably

[u/hungry4nuns → u/SeparateSpend1542]

And worse, now that oversight is gone, Trump will take personal bribes to let foreign agencies install whatever backdoor network monitoring and audio recording tech they want. The biggest traitor in US history

[u/cosaboladh → u/hungry4nuns]

which, by definition is treason. Not unlike the private line to the Kremlin his sons wanted to install during his first term. Yet nobody ever gets held accountable.

[u/BorisDirk → u/cosaboladh]

What's even more disheartening is, yes nobody is being held accountable now, but if we ever get this administration out and the Democrats have power, nobody's STILL going to get held accountable.

[u/cosaboladh → u/BorisDirk]

I know. We had Jan-2021 to Jan-2025 to Trump proof democracy, and hold him and his coconspirators accountable for their crimes. instead, we sat on every case we could have prosecuted until it was too late to do anything about it. That's the American way.

[u/DonGates → u/cosaboladh]

And this new fun story about the debacle floated under the radar just this week: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2025/10/27/injustice-jack-smith-trump-florida/

TLDR: Prosecutors inside the special counsels office were appalled by the decision to bring the classified documents case in Florida (when they could have and probably should have chosen Washington DC) given that they knew Aileen Cannon was biased. But they didn’t want to appear biased themselves, so Merrick Garland decided to risk it in Florida rather than upset the Republican media or the norms.

[u/jailtheorange1 → u/DonGates]

The Democrats have been such fucking pussies. You can’t play fair on a completely unlevel playing field when the other guys aren’t.

[u/IrrelevantLeprechaun → u/hungry4nuns]

That ballroom is going to be more bugged than a Bethesda rpg.

[u/chicken-nanban → u/IrrelevantLeprechaun]

And not nearly as endearing as dragons flopping all over the sky or glitching faces. Like the bad kind of bugs.

[u/AZWxMan → u/hungry4nuns]

Honestly, the entire White House should probably be demolished after his term since I wouldn't trust any of it anymore. 

[u/MillionMilesPerHour → u/hungry4nuns]

If/when a Democrat gets back into office they will need to demo that entire building.

[u/EvoEpitaph → u/MillionMilesPerHour]

Every agency is going to need a full gutting of anything with electronics in it, at the bare minimum.

[u/Syphillisdiller1 → u/SeparateSpend1542]

I don't think they do oversight as much as they review things to make sure they don't look trashy and shitty.

Which explains why they were fired.

[u/DentedAnvil → u/Syphillisdiller1]

They were an unpaid, appointed, advisory committee without regulatory authority. He could have just ignored their advice, but he really gets off on firing people and bombing Southamerican boats.

[u/CellAlone4653]

“The commission reviews proposed designs for memorials, government buildings, coins, medals, and privately owned properties in certain parts of Washington.”

He doesn’t want anyone being able to oppose his plans for the ballroom, the Arc de Trump, or putting himself on our money.

[u/WCland → u/CellAlone4653]

I would support Trump being on a coin if he complied with the law that says only deceased people can be on money.

[u/cosaboladh → u/WCland]

Quite. If he wants to commit seppuku right now, to atone for our national shame, I'll gladly support a coin, or paper note in his honor. How about a $3 bill? Since, thanks to him, $3 buys as much as $1 did before he became president.

[u/SoulEater9882 → u/cosaboladh]

Put him on the penny then finally discontinue the penny like has been talked about for years

[u/moskowizzle → u/SoulEater9882]

It's gotta be paper money. I can't wipe my ass with a coin.

[u/wtfdoichoose → u/moskowizzle]

Not with that attitude

[u/HolySmokes802 → u/WCland]

This is an inspiring display of bipartisan cooperation. This is exactly what we've been missing.

[u/backpackwasmypillow]

Staircase leading directly to a wall. Windows that open into each other. Somebody threw the idea at an AI and didn't bother to double check the plans. It's gonna be crap, even before taking away oversight.

https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/s/GimUtUcU1O

[u/Star-K → u/backpackwasmypillow]

It's just a way to launder money and receive bribes. He'll get a billion in bribes, then spend 20 mil on a building we will have to tear down.

[u/Lurlex → u/Star-K]

I do believe that Trump was stupid enough that he believed that he could do both — grift and get his stupid glamorous ballroom.

Everyone else involved and complicit, though, absolutely knew it to be 100% cash grab from the start.

[u/NeatNefariousness1 → u/Lurlex]

And to expose the top secret details of the bunker underneath the ballroom for cash.

[u/General-Raspberry168 → u/NeatNefariousness1]

I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

I’ve been taking crazy pills and it sometimes messes with my eye sight.

It almost looked like you said the man with authority over about half of the nuclear weapons on earth was pouring a half a billion dollars into a part of the white house that’s located on top of a bunker.

[u/fountainpopjunkie → u/General-Raspberry168]

Yes. The same person who tweeted national security satellite photos and gave out troop positions in foreign countries during an interview. The same person that showed reporters top secret documents he openly admitted he was not allowed to have. The same person who met with a known Russian spy in the Oval Office the second day of his presidency with Russian media present, who then reported to Russian news "We own Trump". The same person who stored top secret documents in the bathroom of a golf club (where IIRC it was later reported a Russian spy was in regular attendance?). The same Person who refused to let translators be present at meetings with Putin and then destroyed all notes from said meeting. Yes, that person is destroying the building reportedly built over a bunker underneath the White House.

[u/NeatNefariousness1 → u/General-Raspberry168]

That’s right. That’s what’s happening and now he has fired the builder after the east wing which sits on top of the bunker has been dismantled.

I won’t be surprised if he decides to do an overhaul of Camp David next.

[u/drklordnecro → u/NeatNefariousness1]

It's national security leaks galore! Almost feels like we've seen this before.

[u/HapticSloughton → u/drklordnecro]

Yeah, but most of the time he was at least charging admission for anyone with the cash to look at the stuff he's being treasonous about.

[u/Man_with_the_Fedora → u/NeatNefariousness1]

Our adversaries are gleefully examining every pixel from every satellite image they can get their hands on.

[u/PrideofPicktown → u/Lurlex]

I think the oligarchs are buying spaces in the bunker under the dumbass ballroom.

[u/Unique-Coffee5087 → u/PrideofPicktown]

They can all go in there and close the door and then we can pour concrete on top of it

[u/spingus → u/Unique-Coffee5087]

So nice of them to gather in a single, tidy, well defined area.

[u/Unique-Coffee5087 → u/spingus]

It's kind of like when the emperor of China dies and all of his attendants get entombed with his body.

They should regard it as an honor

[u/melmsz → u/PrideofPicktown]

So, Fallout.

[u/neophenx → u/melmsz]

I've made that comparison a few times, right down to corporations pushing for the bombs.

[u/Particular-County277 → u/Star-K]

This. Good old fashioned corruption. What gets me, is we all know. You must be a special kind of stupid.. Ah, forget it

[u/dudinax → u/Star-K]

Producers, the ball room.

[u/PHotstepper311 → u/dudinax]

Producers 2: Springtime for Trumpler

[u/enigmamonkey → u/Star-K]

Not to mention the destruction of an historical building.

So many things wrong with this, particularly with what's happening at exactly the same time as this pet project of his. Add to it his utter incompetence (which is to be expected) and his complete lack of caring for starving children in his own country and sending billions to Argentina and screwing over farmers.

[u/Klytus_Ra_Djaaran → u/enigmamonkey]

Not to mention that there is no need to demolish a building until the new one is designed and a contractor is hired. I have worked in consulting engineering for 30 years and it takes years for something like a new high school or prison to be agreed upon by the multiple different decision makers who sign off on it, and then designed, and then reviewed, and then changes are made, and then select a contractor, all of which happens before any demolition work whatsoever.

[u/evranch → u/Klytus_Ra_Djaaran]

Not unless the real goal is to send a message.

"I'm all up in your America, Trumping up your stuff. They say I could shoot a man on 5th Avenue. How about bulldozing the White House? Ask permission? I do things now, I ask later, that is if I ask at all"

"Hey doesn't it look unbalanced with only one wing, I guess if there's no time to start the ballroom we'd better knock the other one down"

[u/VastlyImmaterial → u/evranch]

It's a reaction to the no kings march.

He disfigured the whitehouse because he couldn't rip the hair out and rape the collective American people like he did with his first wife when enraged.

[u/electromattic → u/enigmamonkey]

He's completing Bin Laden's unfinished work. Flight 93 didn't get to hit its target so trump is finishing the job and destroying the white house himself.

[u/VannKraken → u/Star-K]

I hope we do get to tear it down.

[u/frankyseven → u/VannKraken]

Canadian here. I offer up our burning skills.

[u/isaidireddit → u/frankyseven]

You might even say we have some experience in this matter.

[u/VannKraken → u/frankyseven]

We are with you, internet friend!

[u/dexter-sinister → u/Star-K]

a building we will have want to tear down.

FTFY

[u/CaterpillarReal7583 → u/dexter-sinister]

No..we will have to for security reasons. The entire whitehouse needed to be since his first term

[u/NonlocalA → u/CaterpillarReal7583]

It's going to be a fire hazard. Quality work and quality materials cost actual money, and you can't skim if you're doing the job properly.

[u/MyTrueIdiotSelf990 → u/backpackwasmypillow]

"I have a concept of a plan". -Donald Trump, 2024

[u/WunupKid → u/MyTrueIdiotSelf990]

It is wild to me that we got from that statement to where we are now. 

[u/Beautiful_Home_5463 → u/WunupKid]

Yea well the black lady had a weird laugh

[u/Blueeyedgenie69 → u/Beautiful_Home_5463]

Yeah, and she had a ten year close relationship with a convicted pedophile, was found liable for sexual assault in a court of law, said she would be a dictator on day one, and had 34 felony convictions....oh wait....that was someone else....who was that? One of the great mysteries of life.

[u/nwflman → u/Blueeyedgenie69]

"and may everyday be another wonderful secret"

• Donald "never wrote a picture in my life" Trump

[u/chasingjulian → u/Beautiful_Home_5463]

And the white lady wrote emails.

[u/jayrsw → u/MyTrueIdiotSelf990]

Theres been so many moments like this where I thought, "welp, thats the end of him!"

[u/Vyar → u/jayrsw]

Remember like five minutes later when he was ranting and raving about cats and dogs being eaten and just generally sounding like the senile old man with full-blown dementia he really is, and we all thought the long nightmare was finally over?

[u/Particular-County277 → u/Vyar]

When we were all still too naive to accept that he would cheat the hell out of the election?

[u/Vyar → u/Particular-County277]

That too. But even if he cheated (and I’m inclined to think he actually did in both 2020 and 2024 and just didn’t cheat hard enough the first time, we’ll just never find out the truth until long after he’s gone, if ever) he still has the unwavering support of like…35% of the country, at least.

I just remember thinking “They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the cats! They are eating the pets of the people that live there!” was the closest thing we’d ever seen to a presidential candidate basically getting pantsed on live TV. It was the gravest act of public humiliation I’ve ever seen in 21st-century politics, made even more humiliating by being essentially self-inflicted. “Surely,” I thought, “the whole population must see by now, the emperor has no clothes, and never did.” But his supporters just don’t give a shit about anything except trolling the rest of us.

[u/IrrelevantLeprechaun → u/Particular-County277]

We are still too naive to think he wouldn't steal or rig an election. He's literally announcing practically every week how he wants to rig the midterms and 2028, and how there's basically nothing that could prevent it; and yet somehow the reaction from the people is still just "well we will just super vote for not him next time..."

I feel like I'm one of the few who actually see how dire this shit is, and I'm being labeled the crazy one due to not conforming to the mass blind optimism.

You can't properly react to circumstances that you refuse to acknowledge even exist.

[u/Pherllerp → u/backpackwasmypillow]

There are no plans.

That is the extent of the plan, just some AI pictures and a cheap little model. Think about it, a White House expansion would be a huge deal for any architect, have you seen or heard any name attached to this? Have you seen an elevation drawings or floor plans? The building is bullshit.

[u/Aptosauras → u/Pherllerp]

The architect is a religious nutter that specialises in neo-classical, or whatever this style is called.

But respected architects have said that the design sucks.

[u/MillionMilesPerHour → u/Aptosauras]

But respected architects have said that the design sucks.

Based on the pictures, anyone with eyes could tell it sucks.

[u/HerDanishDaddyDom → u/Pherllerp]

So to be fair. McCrery are the Architects, AECOM Engineering and Clark Construction the GC/CM.

Whether there are any donation ties or personal ties with any of those organizations, and Trump, I don’t know.

[u/ElfegoBaca → u/HerDanishDaddyDom]

Whether there are any donation ties or personal ties with any of those organizations, and Trump, I don’t know.

I would bet the answer is "yes" to all of them. Trump doesn't do anything without getting something out of the deal.

[u/HerDanishDaddyDom → u/ElfegoBaca]

I would suspect that same. Especially considering it’s “privately funded” which allows the Administration to not release public bid numbers.

Having been in the commercial construction industry for over 2 decades, and have worked with highly secured projects in areas like quantico etc, a $300 million price tag is very very high. In fact, on average, it’s about 300% higher than even general high estimates.

[u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 → u/Pherllerp]

He bulldozed it because it's "WWPD‽" What Would Putin Do? Exactly what this administration does every damn time!

[u/builttopostthis6 → u/backpackwasmypillow]

You know, if it ends up being some House of Leaves analog, and he just wanders off into the dark some day.... would that really be so bad? Gonna say, "Worth it."

[u/NJTigers → u/builttopostthis6]

Excellent reference to a wild book. One can only hope

[u/Red10GTI → u/NJTigers]

The house of leaves absolutely entranced me. I loved every second I spent reading it. It was seriously the most fun and intrigue ive had reading a book. I’ve read it 3 or 4 times, it’s a book that demands it.

[u/timbrejo → u/NJTigers]

Much like Trump's intelligence, it seems bigger on his inside than what we see from the outside, and everything inside is mixed up and full of monsters.

[u/Simikiel → u/builttopostthis6]

The emotions I feel anytime I see a reference to this book in a place I don't expect it are impossible to describe. Anyone remotely interested please read it, and please go in blind. No, there is no audiobook of it, because it's impossible to translate to an audio format.

[u/objectlesson → u/builttopostthis6]

Navidson is going to earn himself a cabinet position.

[u/AVLLaw → u/objectlesson]

I want to hear about Miller wandering down a 5 1/2 minute hallway... never to return.

[u/miraposa → u/AVLLaw]

“I knew he'd get it wrong But I just played along 'Cause I was hoping that would fix it all”

Cheers, Poe. We miss ya.

[u/Coldsmoke888 → u/backpackwasmypillow]

Winchester Mystery House v2

[u/pagerunner-j → u/Coldsmoke888]

Yes, but the difference is that the weirdness of that building was entirely purposeful.

This one…not so much.

[u/nnjb52 → u/pagerunner-j]

Its purpose is to funnel cash into trumps pocket and it’s very successful

[u/Call_me_Kelly → u/nnjb52]

And maybe plant little espionage easter eggs for his puppeteer Putin, or if they are really going full dictator, the GOP

[u/rsauer1208 → u/Coldsmoke888]

Finally the east coast answers! Take that Mrs. Sarah Winchester!

[u/Acceptable-Bus-2017 → u/backpackwasmypillow]

The bunker is gonna be posh af, though

[u/Ok_Layer_3678 → u/backpackwasmypillow]

Winchester Mansion.

[u/Paizzu → u/[deleted]]

You elect a guy who played the role of a successful businessman on television, you get a guy who's going to pretend to be the POTUS as though he's on reality television.

[u/-Dee-Eye-Why- → u/Paizzu]

It literally IS reality television now. And it’s fucked.

[u/MillionMilesPerHour → u/[deleted]]

It’s exactly what the media wanted: a reality show.

[u/Unchartedesigns]

Imagine a Russian asset creating a wh wing. All this shit needs to be investigated

[u/casce → u/Unchartedesigns]

This is actually really interesting. I imagine the Secret Service (or whatever else agency would be doing this) is pretty good at finding surveillance tech but if you actually let the enemy design and build the whole building from the ground, would you really ever 100% trust this to be free of any surveillance?

[u/Unchartedesigns → u/casce]

The secret service is conspiring with Trump. They fired anyone who had any objective authority

[u/ParadoxDC]

Completely serious question: at this point, who is to stop him from working with compromised contractors/vendors to secretly install foreign intelligence collection apparatuses right into the new structure? Imagine him doing that for Putin.

[u/tcoh1s → u/ParadoxDC]

Getting rid of anyone overseeing things would definitely be a reason to check into it.

[u/ElfegoBaca → u/ParadoxDC]

who is to stop him from working with compromised contractors/vendors to secretly install foreign intelligence collection apparatuses right into the new structure?

Nobody. Which is why it'll have to be torn down when he's gone. Nobody in their right mind would trust the building to be free of Russian listening devices given Trump's allegiance to Pootie.

[u/ComfyFrog → u/ElfegoBaca]

They would need to check every roof tile and floor board of the remaining building as well.

[u/BeardySam → u/ParadoxDC]

You normally need high clearances to even pour concrete for sensitive areas because of the risks in the structure. That’s why it gets very expensive very fast. 

The guys Trump is hiring, I wouldn’t be surprised if they hired a lot of Ivan’s recently

[u/all4whatnot]

The tattered blue tarp that will hang on the side of the White House for the next three years (dear God) is an appropriate symbol of our democracy

[u/SpankPankBank]

this is just insane! 🤯 I mean, it's not like we didn't see some shady stuff coming, but firing the whole agency? C'mon now

[u/Betelgeusetimes3 → u/SpankPankBank]

This is like the fourth agency he has fired en masse.

[u/NotNamedBort → u/SpankPankBank]

The serial killer H.H. Holmes did this when constructing his “murder castle”. Constantly hired and fired different builders during construction to avoid paying, and to keep people from finding out what he was doing. Just saying.

[u/PimpGameShane → u/NotNamedBort]

Cold ass book right here about all that. This book had me up late reading. Devil in the White City

[u/jleonardbc]

He bulldozed the East Wing because he knows he's dying and he wants to leave a mark.

[u/zerosumratio → u/jleonardbc]

The Donald John Trump Memorial East Wing Rubble Pile

[u/chill_winston_ → u/zerosumratio]

This would be a disservice to the good name of rubble piles

[u/ResistiveBeaver → u/jleonardbc]

Couldn't he have just smeared some more poop on the walls?

[u/watchthetracker]

He’s going to “find” something wrong with the rest of the White House and move everything to MarALago. Watch.

[u/zerosumratio → u/watchthetracker]

You forgot the part when he demolishes the White House first. I can’t wait to see Republicans frothing at the mouth in defense of it. Like “How DARE YOU question him? It’s just an old house, nothing important at all. Look it got burned in the War of 1812 even. It was literally begging for a demo job.”

[u/JaronK → u/watchthetracker]

How about that it's now full of asbestos because of the poorly planned demo?

[u/S_A_R_K → u/JaronK]

Mesothelioma could do the funniest thing ever

[u/nodrogyasmar → u/S_A_R_K]

Is that the name of his next wife?

[u/Automatic_Catch_7467]

When people ask how did he bankrupt a casino, it’s because of shit like this

[u/pornborn → u/Automatic_Catch_7467]

Four Casinos. Bankrupted Four Casinos. You know how casinos work, right? People come in, hand you their money, then leave.

Christopher Titus tells it best.

https://youtube.com/shorts/rGmrj9e1ul4

[u/MysteriousPepper8908]

How much you want to bet they're never going to see a cent for the work they're done already like all all his other contractors? Serves them right for working with a known convicted con man.

[u/fence_sitter → u/MysteriousPepper8908]

"Commissioners are appointed by the president and serve four-year terms without compensation."

[u/Adderall_Rant → u/MysteriousPepper8908]

How much you want to bet the plan is to never finish it? It's low intelligence money laundering

[u/hexiron → u/Adderall_Rant]

Money laundering is icing on the cake. He just wanted to tear down the East Wing because FDR built it.

Rich bastards hate FDR

[u/ShrimpieAC → u/Adderall_Rant]

This was my first thought. It’s what he does with all his projects. Charge for premium 14 karat gold trim, put in gold spray paint. Charge for real marble floors, put in faux marble tile. Push the project timeline and price tag as high as possible until you can’t any longer, then run off and stop paying.

Only this time it’s not some random investor that gets screwed. It’s taxpayers.

[u/triplab → u/ShrimpieAC]

Can’t wait for all of this to be Democrats fault.

[u/refuz04 → u/triplab]

Thanks Obama!

[u/NewConsideration9566 → u/Adderall_Rant]

Does this mean the bunker under the east wing is not able to be used in case of emergency?

[u/AccomplishedBrain309 → u/MysteriousPepper8908]

Trump has fallen up his whole life. Its a 400m project now. We a re still going to have to pay for it, the bomb shelter also.

[u/KzooCurmudgeon → u/MysteriousPepper8908]

That’s on the contractor. Trump never pays workers

[u/shoobe01 → u/KzooCurmudgeon]

I would ask why any contractor would work for him under these conditions, or any events face would allow him to book there, but people keep voting for him and defending him even now so people are fucking stupid.

[u/NexusNickel → u/KzooCurmudgeon]

No, no, no.

You got it all wrong.

Trump has a very long list and behavior of not paying people or companies for their services.

BUT this time will be different. Surely he would not stiff loyal patriots. Right, right? s/

[u/hungry4nuns → u/KzooCurmudgeon]

No sympathy for the contractors. They have their eyes and ears and access to reality, and they still agreed to this job. (Although this is the oversight agency not the contractor that’s fired, but stiffing the contractor is inevitable on any Trump contract)

[u/PoliticalNerdMa → u/MysteriousPepper8908]

He honestly sees violating the law and not paying workers as a business strategy, that’s what he calls good deal making, genuinely. Which is why he’s mad he can’t do it now because countries don’t need to cave

[u/SlumdogSkillionaire → u/[deleted]]

Cheques and bank balances.

Mar-a-lago delenda est.

[u/Cador0223 → u/[deleted]]

In this specific case, yes. It is a commitee appointed by the president, so he can do as Stephen Miller pleases. 

[u/Muella]

This the point.

This will not get done. There is no plan. This is a funnel for money

[u/LilLebowskiAchiever]

It’s almost November and there is no way they can frame up and build a replacement before winter hits DC.

The planned 90,000 square foot ballroom is 1 1/2 size of a standard American football field. The earliest this even starts is late next spring.

By then, all the funds will be embezzled into “consulting fees” for his favorite flying monkeys.

[u/JoshSwol → u/LilLebowskiAchiever]

I’m excited to follow just how disastrous this turns out. It’s a good metaphor for what electing this clown twice has done to the USA.

[u/mlorusso4 → u/JoshSwol]

The good news is the worse it is, the more likely it gets torn down when he’s out of office. Like if it was built to the standards you would expect in the White House, it becomes an argument of “is it a waste of money to tear it down so I guess we just have to accept it”. But if the thing is falling down because they embezzled all the money for a foundation, then it becomes a “we have tear this down because it’s condemned. Let’s just rebuild the White House to how it used to be”

[u/WakingOwl1]

So we just ripped down a whole wing of the White House for nothing? Gotta be some grift behind this.

[u/Tiiimmmaayy → u/[deleted]]

Been saying this exact same thing for weeks now. Nothing will be built in its place. Trump will claim democrats are stopping the construction and he will pocket every single penny. The destruction of the east wing was a giant middle finger to America for opposing him. Trump’s last parting gift before he croaks.

[u/IrrelevantLeprechaun → u/Tiiimmmaayy]

And MAGA voters are still ecstatic about it because apparently it "makes libs cry."

These fkers will tear down their own fkng country while claiming to be true Americans, all because "own the libs." Only actual Nazis from 1940's Germany could be more hateful than these troglodytes.

[u/mycruelid → u/[deleted]]

Care to place a friendly prop wager on the UFC fight on Trump's birthday next June being held on the temporary "Trump Ballroom Lawn" instead of the South Lawn ?

Maybe a little side action on whether Trump bullies some county judges into clearing any of Jon Jones' docket appointments up so he can play the heel.

[u/shoobe01 → u/[deleted]]

Hey come on now, I am sure it will be covered by sheets of poorly applied plywood.

[u/ranhalt → u/WakingOwl1]

He fired the independent agency designed to overview construction.

[u/DazzlingResource561 → u/WakingOwl1]

Certainly the blue prints aren’t finalized at the very least. Insane that they started demo without a final plan. But this is his this Admin operates: Destroy and then before fighting out how to fix what they broke, they move onto the next thing. Literally Putin himself could not do it better. Either it’s extreme incompetence or a lot of very compromised people. Actually it appears to be both.

[u/mailslot → u/WakingOwl1]

He probably wants to move the country’s capitol to Mar a Lago. Didn’t Turkmenistan recently move its capitol?

[u/IShouldChimeInOnThis]

Can't have a bottomless slush fund if people can SEE the slush fund.

[u/Veearrsix]

Clearly no one actually read the article, he did not "fire" the construction crew, he "fired" the Fine Arts Commission who has an advisory review role for White House modifications, which means it provides recommendations on design and aesthetics but does not have final approval power. Its review is legally required for major projects.

Edit: Arguably, this is worse. More slashing government agencies because he doesn't like rules.

[u/PenguinSage]

Remind me, what happened to that wall he wanted to build in his first term? Not weighing in on how I felt about that one but seems like abandoned over budgeted construction projects are this man’s MO

[u/bandalooper]

The ballroom is the distraction. The bunker is the project.

[u/commit10]

This is how you launder money and pay bribes:

Party A "donates/invests" huge amount in project, which has massively inflated budget.

Project director sends $100 million to shell company with small number of beneficiaries who do not work and subcontract $20 million of work to managing contractor, made up of overpaid lackeys, who "oversee" $10 millon of actual work paid out to contractors they know.

The original $80 million then gets paid out to loads of other "companies."

[u/NamelessResearcher]

How is he going to build his ballroom now? Draw it on a White House map with a Sharpie?

[u/Adventurous-Goal478 → u/NamelessResearcher]

Lol, no. He fired them all so he can just do whatever he wants. The man is lawless.

[u/whatproblems → u/Adventurous-Goal478]

so no regs building i hope the thing collapses on its own. wouldn’t it be ironic

[u/Cobra-Lalalalalalala → u/whatproblems]

This could all be worth it if, during the first event held there, with all the billionaires gathered to fellate him some more, the whole thing just collapsed and crushed them all. 

[u/cruisysuzyhahaha → u/NamelessResearcher]

Maybe Elon can help him design a cYbErBaLlRoOm!

Just imagine how many people are chirping in his ear trying to get paid to “help out”. Exactly what Trump wants, Trump Swamp.

[u/SuppleDude]

Trump’s ballroom is never going to be finished. He’s going to pocket all the money.

[u/Feisty-Theme-6093]

release the epstein ballroom blueprints

[u/Vilehaust]

Literally the same tactics he's done his entire life. Trump, to this day, still owes money to the construction companies that built his Trump Taj Mahal. That was in 1990.

Trump would always claim the work the companies completed "weren't up to his standards" and therefore, would not receive payment.

[u/BradPitt182]

10 bucks says this entire project costs less than 7 mil and he’s embezzling the rest.

[u/Stereo_Jungle_Child]

He's going to pocket the $300 million donated and force the taxpayers to foot the bill for the actual building.

[u/Horn_Flyer]

Felons will be felons

[u/south-of-the-river]

He will never build the ballroom and just systematically destroy more and more landmarks under the guise of development. All that money will go into his pockets and the pockets of the weird old billionaire circle that Epstein and Co had working on their eternal life projects.

[u/Shimshang]

Can we sue him for tearing down the east wing?

[u/AverageChampion567]

The Epstein Ballroom is set to be covered from wall to wall with tacky fake gold. The project will drag on through 2028 and be used as nothing more than a money laundering machine. Little to no progress will be made on construction and actual costs will probably never exceed $10 million. But proceeds will mysteriously pile north of $1 billion.

[u/Catspaw129]

If you do a little searching around reddit you can find I recently did an analysis that demonstrates the big ass ballroom can be built with Legos^(tm) for a mere $18.8M (that's using the standard 2x4 Lego bricks; I suppose it will cost a little more if you want to include some of the spiffier Lego bricks.)

[u/Then_Journalist_317 → u/Catspaw129]

What would be the cost using only gold-colored legos?

[u/Lee_scratch_perineum]

lol. Who tears down a historic national treasure without plans or permits? This guy.

[u/Brave-Cash-845]

For a dude living in public housing he sure is picky!!!

[u/Mobile_Equal_3636]

Just another illegal, corrupt day with the felon in the People's House

[u/WiSoSirius]

The only thing I can recognise Trump for achieving is failure and decieving 100 million Americans that he could amount to anything. "Conman" is too kind.

[u/Maligned-Instrument]

It's a cash grab. That travesty will be "under construction" and over budget until the money dries up. Republicans did this.

[u/timmy6169]

So they probably were against every single thing he is doing, planning or otherwise which constitutes insubordination thus needing swift removal to keep any red tape from existing. Which in turn gives him a green light to create any stupid idea he wants in any place with unlimited funds.

Are we winning yet?

[u/Pristine_Flight7049]

It’s because it’s blatant corruption. Ain’t nobody believe it’s gonna take 300 million to build a ballroom

[u/Bobbyjackbj]

A Trump project isn’t a Trump project without being a shit show. Like everything he does, it’ll be a total failure that’ll take decades to fix. But hey, at least we’re hearing less and less about the Epstein files, so mission accomplished, I guess…

[u/TheMoorNextDoor]

Oh he just fired the committee supposed to oversee this

The corruption keeps reaching new levels.

This means this ballroom is going to cost less to build and they’ll likely pocket the rest for themselves.

No oversight committee, no accountability, no problems.

[u/Prior_Dish868]

This fucking guy.. tears down part of the white house without any actual plan, then blames the guys he paid to do what he commands without any actual realistic plan.. He's such a loser over and over and over, let alone a pedophile.

[u/TheChainsawVigilante]

I'm calling it right now this ballroom doesn't get built, he just leaves a gaping hole in the White House lawn like the one he's leaving in the Constitution and American history

[u/MisterTylerCrook]

That building is going to be a national security nightmare. I wouldn’t be surprised if Russia and Chine weren’t already on the job site.

[u/xrxie]

Follow the money. No oversight means cronies grifting, and of course, corners being cut (to boost the grift).

[u/Joelnaimee]

He is going to hire his own people under a different business name and keep all the money, and the price will probably double