Trump’s Ballroom Project Dumps Toxic Debris On Public Golf Course
(Screengrab via X/@maustermuhle) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Debris from the White House’s demolished East Wing– knocked down to make way for President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom– tested positive for lead after being dumped at a public golf course, according to the National Park Service.
The rubble was also found to contain chromium, PCBs, pesticides, petroleum byproducts, and other toxic chemicals at levels over laboratory reporting limits in soil, a report requested by the park service found. Over 30,000 cubic yards of debris from the White House construction project have been dumped at the East Potomac Golf Links course since October.
The choice of the nearby golf course as a dumping ground was highly scrutinized following previous reports that Trump was looking to rebrand the course. Trump reportedly autographed a rendering of a new golden logo for the redesign proposal, which included renaming the site the “Washington National Golf Course.” That idea escalated last week, when NOTUS reported that the Trump administration would take over the course and begin renovating it on Monday.
The DC Preservation League filed an emergency stay request along with residents following the report, which a federal judge declined to issue on Monday. U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes kept the possibility of halting construction open, while directing the U.S. government to share plans for the renovation with government lawyers if it intended to cut down more than ten trees.
Legal organization Democracy Forward, which is co-representing the Preservation League, called for a review of the new test results, claiming in a press release that the report revealed the government “dumped a cocktail of contaminants” on the course. The group added that “despite indications of the refuse’s contents, they continued dumping” the debris in the public space.
Katie Martin, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the park service, said in an email to AP on Tuesday that the debris “was tested multiple times, by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law.” She further claimed that “this thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public,” writing in her statement that the department is “committed to continuing the relationships we have built with the local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class for people living in and visiting the greatest capital city in the world.”
Trump’s ballroom has continued to create controversy and capture political and public attention since Trump announced the plan in August. After the White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting, the president renewed his call for the construction of the White House Ballroom.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social.
Todd Blanche dually called for one of the legal challenges against the project, this one brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to be dropped in light of the shooting. Senate Republicans seemed to answer the call for renewed ballroom efforts on Tuesday, allocating $1 billion in security funding for the plan.
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