Trump admin broke law to hand over multi-million contract to construction firm: report

Source: msn/Rawstory

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President Donald Trump's administration handed millions in taxpayer funds to a company already working on a White House refurbishment, a report has shown.

Trump chose the Maryland-based Clark Construction to build his $400 million ballroom, but an investigation from the New York Times exposed a separate deal with the firm to work on another job. The National Park Service's request to repair two ornamental fountains in Lafayette Park would have cost the admin $3.3 million, according to estimates drafted by the Biden administration in 2022.

Trump has since issued Clark Construction with an $11.9 million contract, which has since increased to $17.4 million. David A. Fahrenthold, Luke Broadwater, and Andrea Fuller noted that the agency issued the contract without accepting bids from other companies. This decision was backed by an "urgency" exception primarily used in times of war or in the aftermath of natural disasters. The NYT trio wrote, "By law, federal agencies are generally supposed to seek competing bids to find the vendor that provides the best deal.

"Unlike the ballroom project, which Mr. Trump says will be funded by private donations, the bill for the fountain repairs is being paid by the government. This contract has not been previously reported.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-admin-broke-law-to-hand-over-multi-million-contract-to-construction-firm-report/ar-AA21IryL