The Trump administration has awarded a $500 million no-bid contract to Clark Construction for a presidential ballroom at the Executive Residence, bypassing standard federal competitive bidding rules.
President Donald Trump personally participated in the contract negotiations, despite previous promises that the project would be privately funded at zero cost to taxpayers.
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The administration used the Executive Residence procurement exemption, citing national security concerns, according to White House Office of Administration Director Joshua Fisher.
A federal judge rejected the administration's use of federal property maintenance laws as legal authority for the project in March, though the no-bid contract has not yet faced legal challenges.
Trump earlier claimed, “They said: ‘Sir, we’ll do it for nothing. This is the greatest honor.’”
Record Fireworks and Security
Federal workers began deploying pyrotechnics at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, June 29, 2026, ahead of the Independence Day celebration.
The Freedom 250 display will feature over 860,000 explosives across a 40-minute show on July 4, breaking the previous record of 809,000 fireworks set in Manila, Philippines in 2016.
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Pyrotecnico, the Pennsylvania-based vendor, said it would be a “once-in-a-generation patriotic spectacle” and a landmark in fireworks history.
President Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks in person, prompting the Department of Homeland Security to designate the event as a National Special Security Event.
Strict prohibitions on items like chairs, coolers, and vapes will be enforced.
During a White House press briefing, Trump criticized growing socialist political popularity, calling it “the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding.”
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat responded on X, writing, “Who’s gonna tell him about World War Two?”
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Separately, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's appointee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claimed on Fox News that 40 percent of Affordable Care Act enrollees had never used their insurance.
