{"id":777235,"date":"2026-07-22T05:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/777235\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T05:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:13:10","slug":"democratic-lawmakers-slam-trump-vanity-projects-in-shadow-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/777235\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic lawmakers slam Trump “vanity projects” in shadow hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congressional Democrats held a shadow hearing Tuesday to heap scorn on President Trump’s construction projects<\/a> around Washington. Republicans did not participate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawmakers hammered the president for bulldozing norms in pursuit of his construction goals<\/a> and imposing his likeness on buildings, coins<\/a> and passports<\/a>. They focused their ire on what one congressman called the president’s “vanity projects,” like the East Wing renovation<\/a> and triumphal arch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We are experiencing unprecedented corruption in plain sight,” said witness Norm Eisen, a former ethics lawyer for the Obama White House who now represents a man accused of damaging<\/a> the Reflecting Pool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The biggest vandal in Washington, D.C., is the president of the United States,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California added.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has relied on no-bid contracts in order to expedite construction for certain projects like the White House ballroom and the recent renovation of the Reflecting Pool<\/a>\u00a0(which has been drained<\/a> and is now undergoing repairs). One contract went to a water filtration company owned by a political donor and neighbor of Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n

“Government contracts are juicy targets for thieves,” said Jon Golinger, a lawyer for left-leaning advocacy group Public Citizen. So far, no court has found that the administration has violated government contracting laws.<\/p>\n

The hearing, led by Garcia and Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, felt rally-like at times with a supportive gallery applauding statements from witnesses and members of Congress. D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton received a standing ovation at one point.<\/p>\n

“Ordinarily we would have a presiding officer sternly gaveling down the applause, but actually there’s something very refreshing, inspiring about your approval,” Blumenthal remarked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, and without their participation, the hearing was not part of official congressional business. Democratic lawmakers sat at temporary tables on the floor of a Senate hearing room instead of the raised dais typically used for official proceedings.<\/p>\n

\"img-0391.jpg<\/p>\n

Democratic lawmakers sat at temporary tables on the floor of a Senate hearing room for a shadow hearing on President Trump’s construction projects, July 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

CBS News \/ Arden Farhi<\/p>\n

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawmakers also highlighted potential conflicts of interest between donors to the president’s privately financed projects and the administration’s official actions.<\/p>\n

“It’s one man’s vanity over the priorities of the American people,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.<\/p>\n

Musician Ben Folds, who until early 2025 held an advisory role with the National Symphony Orchestra, testified before the panel. He said the Kennedy Center was in a “golden age” before Mr. Trump became chairman of its board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Artists canceled shows, the president briefly added his name to the building, and the board announced a plan to close the famed performing arts center for two years for renovations.<\/p>\n

“When you politicize art, you’ve got propaganda,” Folds said.<\/p>\n

Democrats have multiple ongoing investigations into the financing and contracts tied to the White House ballroom and other Trump-led projects. They lack the ability to compel the administration to disclose details. \u00a0<\/p>\n

“We will use that subpoena power if we are fortunate enough to have it next year,” said Blumenthal.<\/p>\n

\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n

\n Go deeper with The Free Press\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Congressional Democrats held a shadow hearing Tuesday to heap scorn on President Trump’s construction projects around Washington. Republicans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-777235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}