What we know
What we know: As Congress returns to Democrats, one likely casualty emerges: Trump's District of Columbia projects
Compiled Nov 6
What we know
- Democrats will control Congress starting in the new term, gaining 54 Senate seats and 237 House seats versus 44 and 147 for Republicans.
- Trump has been personally involved in multiple DC projects: Kennedy Center renovation, East Potomac golf course changes, a 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle, a White House ballroom, and a National Garden of American Heroes.
- The National Capital Planning Commission approved the arch project on an 8-4 vote after a 9.5-hour hearing with over 120 witnesses.
- Congress appropriated $257 million for the Kennedy Center renovation, and the golf course seawall cost is estimated to exceed $300 million.
- Four of Trump's DC projects (ballroom, golf course, National Garden, arch) are currently in litigation.
- Texas, Georgia, Iowa and Nevada are getting Democratic governors, affecting control of over 600 National Guard troops deployed to DC.
What we don’t know yet
- Whether U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will grant a temporary restraining order to stop arch construction.
- Whether attorneys for the Trump administration violated ethical boundaries in the golf course case, which Judge Ana Reyes plans to formally investigate.
- Exact cost estimates for the projects, which the article says have been slim and trickled out during testimony.
- Whether the outcome of the DC/Virginia lawsuit, now consolidated with the existing case, will succeed.
- The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the article's questions.
Open questions
- Will Judge Chutkan or the DC/Virginia lawsuit succeed in halting arch construction?
- What will Judge Reyes's formal inquiry into the golf course case reveal about attorney conduct?
- Can Democrats use the appropriations process starting Jan. 3 to effectively block project funding?
- How will the change in governorships affect the National Guard troops stationed in DC?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.