Dem
47
GOP
53
We have such a backlog of items about corrupt behavior from the members of this administration that it seems impossible to get to them all. We'll have to start doing roundups, with maybe four items per day. Even then, though, it will take a good while to get through them all. And that assumes no more corrupt behavior from the administration in the interim. Not a good bet, to say the least.
Today, we're going to content ourselves with writing up the two grifty items that loom large in the news right now. First, of course, is Kristi Noem's many and varied shenanigans (see above). And second is the new White House ballroom. In theory, that project required approvals from a bunch of different parts of the federal bureaucracy. But Donald Trump is like the other New York City president—Theodore Roosevelt—in some ways, and one of those ways is that both men tended to do whatever they wanted, and then to dare Congress (or anyone else) to do anything about it. The Rough Rider pulled that stunt with the Panama Canal, and Trump has now pulled it with a construction project of equal importance.
Yep, that's right. For those who have not already heard, demolition of (part of) the East Wing of the White House commenced yesterday. Gone are the offices used by Eleanor Roosevelt. Gone are the areas used as emergency bunkers during World War II. Gone is the entrance that, until this week, was used by members of the general public when visiting the People's House for a tour.
For Trump to commence construction without any sort of approvals is certainly illegal, but he will suffer no consequences, of course. There's no person or entity currently in a position to hold him accountable who has any interest in doing so. And once there is a person or entity in a position to hold him accountable, they're going to have a hundred fish to fry that are bigger than this one.
That said, the thing that makes this grifty is not Trump tearing apart the White House of his own volition. That's
icky, but it's not grifty. No, the grifty part is the funding for the ballroom. The President has yet to give any
meaningful details, in terms of who is paying, how much they are paying, and exactly what their reward might be for
their generosity. He did
host a dinner
with some fat-cat rich guys last week, and that was apparently a shakedown fundraiser. But the almost total lack
of details is obviously not a good sign. The two obvious questions: (1) Is some rich guy going to donate, say, $10
million so he can have a little metal plaque on a sign outside the ballroom mentioning his name, or is he going to want
something more for his 8-figure donation? and (2) Is the only thing Trump is getting out of this the glory of remaking the
White House, or is there a little something else in it for him, as well?
The whole thing stinks, and we don't foresee getting any clear answers anytime soon. It's also going to be very interesting to see how the next Democratic president plays this. We doubt they will have the new structure torn down, since that would look petty (even if it was well justified). Maybe they will say, "You know, the tents on the West Lawn were kind of a pain in the rear, and now that we've got a space, I guess we'll just make the best of it." Alternatively, there is a long history of new presidents modifying the building to serve the needs of their administration. Perhaps they could throw up some partitions in there, and use the space for the White House Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? (Z)