Report exposes sketchy no-bid deals as costs spiral on Trump's vanity ballroom project
Report exposes sketchy no-bid deals as costs spiral on Trump's vanity ballroom project
Jen Psaki shares details from a New York Times report about Donald Trump awarding sketchy no-bid contracts for federal construction projects, including his ballroom vanity project, and points out how the cost has both ballooned and shifted to being a taxpayer burden with a new request from Republicans for $1 billion in taxpayer money for Trump's ballroom.
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Transcript
Follow along using the transcript.
0:00
Today,
Republicans in the Senate too the giant spending bill they are trying
to rush through Congress and added a billion dollars to it.0:07
7 seconds
One billion dollars of your hard-earned tax dollars specifically earmarked to build Trump's lavish White House ballroom.0:14
14 seconds
Now, that one billion dollar price track would be eye-popping even if it came out of thin air, but it0:33
33 seconds
would cost $250 million.0:34
34 seconds
It's going to cost right in the neighborhood of $300 million.0:37
37 seconds
In July, the White House said it would cost $200 million. Yesterday, the president said $300 million.0:44
44 seconds
Is
$300 million now the operative figure and why did it go up by so much
300 million is the figure and again it's not going to cost0:51
51 seconds
the taxpayers a dime that didn't age well I mean first Trump was going to pay for it then donors THAT'S HOW IT'S ALL GONE.1:01
1 minute, 1 second
AND, OH, BY THE WAY, NOW IT'S GOING TO COST A BILLION DOLLARS.1:05
1 minute, 5 seconds
AND
IF THE NEW TAXPAYER FUNDED BILLION-DOLLAR PRICE TRACK ON TRUMP'S EVER
BALLOONING BALLROOM WASN'T SKETCHY ENOUGH TO BEGIN WITH, WHICH IT IS.1:13
1 minute, 13 seconds
THAT NEW PRICE TAG COMES JUST A WEEK AFTER THE NEW YORK TIMES GOT THIS SCOOP. HERE'S THE HEADLINE FROM IT.1:19
1 minute, 19 seconds
FIRM BUILDING TRUMP'S BALLROOM GOT A SECRET NO-BID CONTRACT FOR A NEARBY JOB. ALL RIGHT, SO HERE'S THE DETAILS THERE.1:26
1 minute, 26 seconds
LAST
SUMMER TRUMP CHOSE A MARYLAND-BASED CONSTRUCTION COMPANY TO BUILD HIS
WHITE HOUSE SPOTROOM AND THEN AS THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTS IT IN
JANUARY1:34
1 minute, 34 seconds
GOVERNMENT
DOCUMENTS SHOW THAT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SECRETLY GAVE THE COMPANY A
NO-BID CONTRACT TO DO ANOTHER JOB AT A SHARPLY INFLATED PRICE.1:42
1 minute, 42 seconds
THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WANTED TO REPAIR THESE TWO FOUNTAINS IN LAFAYETTE PARK,1:47
1 minute, 47 seconds
WHICH IS JUST RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE WHITE House.1:49
1 minute, 49 seconds
In
2022, the Biden administration estimated the work would cost about $3
.3 million. The Trump administration paid $17 .4 million.1:59
1 minute, 59 seconds
Now
to arrive at that much higher THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ADDED WORK LIKE
BUILDING BENCHES. WHAT KIND OF A BENCH IS THAT, BY THE WAY? AND A Kiosk.2:08
2 minutes, 8 seconds
BUT
THE ADMINISTRATION ALSO DID THINGS LIKE ADD MORE THAN A MILLION
DOLLARS TO ADJUST FOR INFLATION WHICH ALREADY SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY
TO ADD, THEY MUST INFLATION IS REALLY BAD UNDER TRUMP.2:17
2 minutes, 17 seconds
AND THEN GUESS WHAT? THEY DID IT TWICE.2:21
2 minutes, 21 seconds
THE PARK SERVICE LITERALLY INCREASED THE PRICE BY 27 % TO ADJUST FOR INFLATION AND THEN TOOK THAT NUMBER AND increase it2:28
2 minutes, 28 seconds
by another 24 percent to adjust for inflation again. Now that is some creative accounting.2:33
2 minutes, 33 seconds
Now by law, federal agencies are supposed to seek competitive bids when contracting at work.2:38
2 minutes, 38 seconds
Multiple
companies compete with each other typically to try to create the best
proposal at the lowest cost to win contracts like this one from the
government.2:46
2 minutes, 46 seconds
That's how the process is supposed to work.2:47
2 minutes, 47 seconds
It's not how the process worked here to state the obvious.2:50
2 minutes, 50 seconds
The
Trump administration just so happened to give this inflated contract to
the same construction company that is building Trump's ballroom without
considering offers from any other firms.3:01
3 minutes, 1 second
And the administration cited a rarely used urgency exception to avoid the bidding process,3:06
3 minutes, 6 seconds
an exception that is usually meant for emergencies like, say, war or natural disasters.3:12
3 minutes, 12 seconds
But in this case, a spokesperson for the Department of Interior told The Times that,3:16
3 minutes, 16 seconds
quote, the urgency is to ensure this project is done well ahead of America's 250th anniversary.3:21
3 minutes, 21 seconds
She added that the way the contract was awarded was above board.3:25
3 minutes, 25 seconds
The construction company itself did not respond to specific questions about the ballroom or fountain projects,3:31
3 minutes, 31 seconds
but
they told The Times that their track record reflects the quality of
their work and their commitment to integrity. Okay, hold that in your
mind.3:39
3 minutes, 39 seconds
Now, on its own, that $17 .4 million no-bid contract is suspicious, to say the least.3:46
3 minutes, 46 seconds
But of OF COURSE, THAT NO-BID CONTRACT IS NOT A ONE-OFF.3:50
3 minutes, 50 seconds
TWO
MONTHS AGO, THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED A WHOLE SLEW OF NO-BID
CONTRACTS FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION THAT JUST SO HAPPENED TO3:57
3 minutes, 57 seconds
FUNNEL $13 MILLION WORTH OF WORK TO THE firm that planned Trump's rally at the ellipse on January 6th.4:03
4 minutes, 3 seconds
Now, I guess that's what they mean by a record of work, an impeccable record of work, I suppose.4:09
4 minutes, 9 seconds
Now,
the White House told The Times that it was not involved in awarding any
of those CONTRACTS AND THE AGENCIES THAT DID AWARD THE CONTRACTS,4:15
4 minutes, 15 seconds
THE TREASURY AND THE NAVY BOTH JUSTIFIED THE LACK OF A BIDDING PROCESS BY SAYING THE PROJECTS WERE ON CONDENSED TIMELINES.4:21
4 minutes, 21 seconds
SAYING THAT THE FIRM THAT PLANNED TRUMP'S JANUARY 6th RALLY WAS SIMPLY THE ONLY VENDOR CAPABLE OF COMPLETING THE JOB ON TIME.4:29
4 minutes, 29 seconds
SURE, OKAY.4:31
4 minutes, 31 seconds
AND NOW EVEN WITH THAT INCREDIBLY RECENT HISTORY OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HANDING OUT INCREDIBLY SKETCHY GOVERNMENT4:39
4 minutes, 39 seconds
REPUBLICANS WANT TO EARMARK $1 BILLION OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS FOR TRUMP'S BALLROOM, WHICH HE MIGHT JUST USE AS A GIANT SLUSH FUND.4:46
4 minutes, 46 seconds
NOW, THAT'S THE BAD NEWS, ALL OF THAT IS A LOT OF BAD THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS, DEMOCRATS MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.4:53
4 minutes, 53 seconds
FOR
18 MONTHS NOW, DEMOCRATS HAVE RESPONDED TO STORIES ABOUT POTENTIAL
TRUMP GRIFTS WITH LISTS OF DEMANDS LAID OUT IN STRONGLY WORDED LETTERS.5:00
5 minutes
BUT THEY HAVEN'T ACTUALLY HAD THE POWER TO FORCE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO comply with any of those demands.5:04
5 minutes, 4 seconds
The midterms could change that and the White House knows that.5:09
5 minutes, 9 seconds
Now
yesterday, and I alluded to this reporting a little bit earlier, the
Washington Post reported that White House lawyers have begun to prep
White House staff for how to deal with a Democratic Congress.5:19
5 minutes, 19 seconds
White House staffers are literally being shown PowerPoint presentations about how congressional oversight works,5:24
5 minutes, 24 seconds
with the implication that that very oversight might soon be coming for them. Yeah, there you go.5:32
5 minutes, 32 seconds
Now, coming up, Pete Buttigieg referenced a special
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