Demand Progress

Block White House ballroom and D.C. arch construction, and save the Kennedy Center!

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    Block White House ballroom and D.C. arch construction, and save the Kennedy Center!

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to support bills to keep the president's face and signature off of U.S. currency, keep his name off of federal buildings, and protect institutions like the Kennedy Center. We urge you to block the construction of the White House ballroom, triumphal arch, and other wasteful, self-serving Trump administration projects.

    Trump is yet again blowing through legal challenges to waste our tax dollars on dangerous authoritarian renovations in D.C.

    The White House is fast-tracking construction of the "triumphal" arch despite legal challenges and serious airspace safety concerns.1 This is exactly what Trump did with his White House ballroom, ignoring the rule of law and wasting hundreds of millions of dollars to remake America in his MAGA image. Trump has spent nearly $2 billion on these vanity projects.2

    Trump's Department of Justice is helping him skirt the law by issuing bogus opinions about the president's authority to gold-plate the White House and claiming "executive privilege" to keep Trump's role in the nefarious scheme to destroy the Kennedy Center a secret.3,4 Congress must stop Trump's runaway remodeling of America.

    Sign the petition: Block White House ballroom and D.C. arch construction, and save the Kennedy Center!

    Rep. Don Beyer said, "The administration has not won the legal battle over the [arch] proposal, which is plainly illegal without congressional authorization."5 Despite this clear legal reality, Trump is prepared to break ground on the 250-foot arch in early November.

    Meanwhile, after judges prevented Trump from keeping his name on the Kennedy Center, Trump and his loyalists have been trying to sabotage, shutter, and demolish the cultural institution.

    Trump has shown he will disregard safety and the law to plow ahead with his construction projects. Congress must finally thwart Trump's wasteful MAGA renovations.

    Sign the petition: Stop Trump's right-wing renovations of America NOW!

    Sources:

    1. CNN, "Construction on Trump’s 250-foot triumphal arch in DC could begin in just two weeks," October 21, 2026.
    2. Joint Economic Committee Democrats, "President Trump's Vanity Projects: $1.8+ Billion. Here's What Else That Money Could Be Used For," September 23, 2026.
    3. Washington Post, "Kennedy Center doesn't have to answer questions about Trump's role, DOJ asserts," October 9, 2026.
    4. The Guardian, "No court has authority to block Trump's White House ballroom, DoJ lawyer says," June 5, 2026.
    5. New York Times, "Trump to Break Ground on Arch Before Getting Approval," September 3, 2026.
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