Internal National Park Service budget documents obtained by The Atlantic show that the walkway replacement on the West Colonnade, the path connecting the White House residence to the Oval Office, cost taxpayers $689,232. The historic Tennessee flagstone was replaced with polished African granite, carved in Italy. When a reporter asked in March 2026 who was paying for the work, Trump replied, “Paid for by me.” People, citing a March 24 White House pool report, likewise reported that when asked who was paying, the president said he was.
The walkway was part of a $1.3 million project that also covered adjacent stone and masonry repairs and new door hardware. A year earlier, in a separate “Rush project at request of POTUS,” the Park Service spent $347,503 to replace the stucco on the colonnade wall, clearing the way for Trump to mount gold frames and plaques mocking some of his predecessors. According to The Independent's account of the documents, another $32,095 was approved in March to maintain statues Trump placed in the Rose Garden.
The documents show a broader shift. Taxpayer spending on Park Service projects in the National Capital Region rose 92 percent over the past year, drawing on revolving maintenance accounts and more than $100 million in fees collected almost entirely from parks elsewhere. Spending on park projects outside the Washington area fell by $854 million, a 68 percent decline, in the first eight and a half months of fiscal 2026 compared with the previous full fiscal year, and more than 900 projects lost expected funding, including a roof replacement at the Yellowstone Center for Resources and a free bus system at Acadia. “The president is prioritizing D.C. at the expense of parks throughout the country,” Emily Douce of the National Parks Conservation Association told The Atlantic. An Interior Department spokesperson said the Park Service had also been “working on many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country.” The White House did not respond to questions about the funding source for the paving stones.
Correction (October 2, 2026): The entry described the Washington funding as drawn from fees collected at parks nationwide and the $854 million drop as a one-year change. The reporting says the fees came almost entirely from parks outside Washington, and the $854 million figure compares the first eight and a half months of fiscal 2026 with the previous full fiscal year. The entry now says so and cites The Atlantic's original report, and the title now says the Park Service, not Trump personally, made the payment.