Trump Administration Bypasses Bidding Process for Triumphal Arch Using Unrelated Contract

Emails obtained by The Washington Post revealed that the Trump administration planned to circumvent the standard public bidding process for the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch by piggybacking on an existing, unrelated engineering contract for White House grounds maintenance. Park Service acting director Jessica Bowron requested to extend a White House contract with AECOM Services on April 22 to expedite environmental assessments for the arch site on National Park Service land across the Potomac River. Executive Office official Heather Martin approved the request within an hour. Federal procurement experts characterized this move as highly unusual given the arch site is not part of the White House complex and is located on NPS land more than a mile away. The maneuver allowed the administration to bypass competitive bidding requirements and accelerate work on Trump's controversial vanity project, raising questions about potential violations of federal procurement regulations designed...

"The unusual move would allow the administration to bypass a potentially lengthy public bidding process, and experts said it was unusual because the arch site is on National Park Service land across the Potomac River and is not part of the White House complex." — Federal procurement experts commenting on the administration's plan to use an unrelated White House maintenance contract for the triumphal arch project