Inside Trump’s Mad Dash to Renovate Washington

About this episode

<p>In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, President Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a major renovation of the nation’s capitol.</p> <p>David A. Fahrenthold, who has been investigating how the projects have come together, takes listeners on a walking tour of the sites being remade.</p> <p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-a-fahrenthold" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>David A. Fahrenthold</strong></a>, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, writing primarily about nonprofit organizations.</p> <p>Background reading: </p> <ul> <li>See <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/05/31/us/trump-reflecting-pool-problems.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">what’s wrong</a> with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.</li> <li>A no-bid contract is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/us/politics/reflecting-pool-trump-contract.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">turning the pool blue</a>.</li> <li>The firm building Mr. Trump’s ballroom got <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/us/politics/lafayette-park-fountains-trump-contract.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a secret no-bid contract for a nearby job</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Photo: Allison Robbert for The New York Times</p> <p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p> <p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>