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The administration has started or completed work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a new White House ballroom, a planned triumphal arch, and renovations at the Kennedy Center. Three of the projects face lawsuits or cost overruns.
wealthmanagement.comThe Trump administration has begun or completed four construction projects in Washington that together are expected to cost more than $1 billion. Work on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool finished in early June after the surface was coated in blue paint at a final cost of $14.7 million, more than nine times the $1.5 million estimate given when the project was announced in April.
A filtration system added another $1.7 million. Within two weeks the water turned green and sections of paint began to peel; five people were arrested for vandalism and five others received citations.
Wing began in late 2025 to clear space for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom designed to seat 1,000 guests. Clark Construction is the contractor. The project was first estimated at $200 million, then raised to $400 million, and a later summary placed the total at $600 million, with roughly half expected to come from taxpayer-funded agencies.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued in December, arguing the demolition occurred without required review. A lower court ruled that Congress must approve the project; an appeals court has not yet decided whether work can continue.
Triumphal arch In October 2025 the administration announced plans for a 250-foot triumphal arch to be built at Memorial Circle between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. The National Endowment for the Humanities has allocated $15 million; an Axios report estimated the full cost at $100 million.
A group of veterans and a historian filed suit to stop construction, but no court order has been issued.
Kennedy Center The board of the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted in December to rename the venue the Trump-Kennedy Center. It also approved a two-year closure for renovations that are scheduled to begin this summer. Congress provided $257 million for the work through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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rediff.comKeir Starmer announced his resignation as prime minister on Monday, ten years after the 2016 Brexit referendum. He had led Labour to victory in the July 2024 election. Andy Burnham, sworn in as an MP the same day, is a leading candidate to succeed him.
theiranproject.comPresident Trump said Iran agreed to U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites, but Iranian officials rejected the claim. The disagreement emerged as talks continue on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal law does not permit inmates to sue individual prison officials for money damages over religious rights violations. The decision came in a case involving a Rastafarian inmate whose dreadlocks were cut in a Louisiana prison in 2020.