The true cost of one of President Donald Trump’s self-promoting projects in Washington has been revealed.
Massive banners at the Department of Justice featuring Trump’s scowling official portrait cost taxpayers nearly $1 million, according to records obtained by Politico through the Freedom of Information Act.
Those records show the department awarded a January contract for an “RFK Beautification Project” at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building. The contract totaled $892,192.07, with another $54,768 added this week through a supplemental agreement.
Two of the banners were installed on the Pennsylvania Avenue-facing corners of the building and feature Trump’s portrait above the words “MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN.”
Also part of the project’s expenses were pressure washing the building’s exterior and upgrades to the exterior lighting system, which were used to illuminate the new Trump banners at night.
A Justice Department spokesperson defended the project, telling Politico, “The banners were part of a broader beautification project for the historic RFK building, executed under an existing DOJ construction contract.”
The spokesperson added, “We are proud at this Department of Justice to celebrate 250 years of our great country, and our historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction.”
The banners have sparked criticism that taxpayer money should not be used to display images of a sitting president on federal buildings.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, of California, said the spending is “a terrible waste of Americans’ hard-earned money.”
Schiff says he has also uncovered a $39,000 contract for Trump banners at the Department of the Interior, a contract worth up to $114,000 at the Federal Aviation Administration, and separate records that show that the Department of Agriculture spent $16,400 on banners featuring Trump and Abraham Lincoln.
