In January 2026, the National Park Service gave Clark Construction, the Maryland firm Trump chose to build his White House ballroom, a no-bid contract to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, The New York Times reported on April 25, citing government documents. The Biden administration had estimated the repair at $3.3 million in 2022. The Trump administration agreed to pay Clark $11.9 million and later added tasks that raised the contract to $17.4 million. Unlike the ballroom, which Trump says is privately funded, the fountain work is paid for by the government.
The agency did not consider offers from other firms, citing a rarely used “urgency” exception to open bidding that is usually meant for emergencies such as war or natural disasters. Truthout, summarizing the Times, reported that the exception had not been used in 99 percent of Park Service contracts in the past decade and that the agency cited inflation to add about $2 million. Engineering News-Record found no award notice or sole-source justification posted on SAM.gov, and reported that an internal Park Service memo argued only Clark, with crews already on the adjacent ballroom site, could move fast enough. The stated reason for urgency was having the fountains working for the nation's 250th anniversary.
Stephen J. Kirk, the consultant who prepared the 2022 estimate, told the Times, “They just took the cover page of my estimate and just added a bunch of money onto it.” Steven L. Schooner, a government contracting law expert, said, “Self-imposed deadlines aren't urgency. And lack of planning isn't urgency.” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) asked the Interior Department's inspector general to investigate.
The administration defends the award. The Interior Department told ENR it was “above board” and the project “well overdue,” and a source familiar with the procurement said Clark's proposal incorporated competitive bids from subcontractors. A Park Service determination describes a scope wider than the 2022 fountain estimate, including new pumping systems, irrigation, tree replacement, hardscape, benches and turf, so the $3.3 million and $17.4 million figures do not cover identical work. Clark said it follows “prescribed procurement processes.” Trump wrote on Truth Social that it was his “Great Honor to have funded this project,” and after the Times story said he had made “a multimillion contribution to the effort” but “was not in charge of handing out the contract.” Truthout noted he offered no evidence of the contribution.
Correction (October 2, 2026): This entry said more than $12 million was added “without further documented justification”; the Times reported the increase came from added tasks, and a Park Service determination lists work beyond the fountains, so that language was removed and the title now gives the initial $11.9 million award and its growth to $17.4 million. The entry also attributed the 99 percent figure to Park Service data rather than the Times's reporting, described Clark's federal portfolio without a source, and said the National Trust for Historic Preservation's ballroom lawsuit cites the same bidding failures; those unsourced claims were removed, along with an unsourced affiliation for Schooner.