Trump’s $2 billion DC ‘beautification’ plan forcing fiscal hawks to stomach more spending
The article discusses president Donald Trump’s proposal to allocate $2 billion in federal funds to “beautify” Washington, D.C., including improvements to streets, infrastructure, and crime prevention efforts. While the initiative aims to revitalize the nation’s capital-a city frequently enough criticized by conservatives for mismanagement-it faces opposition from fiscal hawks in Congress concerned about the national debt and federal spending levels. Some Republicans are cautiously supportive, conditioned on budget offsets and spending oversight, but skepticism remains about trusting local Democratic officials to manage the funds effectively.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, despite being a critic of trump, supports the beautification plan, tho details about how the money would be used are vague. The proposal comes amid broader GOP efforts to increase federal oversight of the city’s law enforcement,including an ongoing federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and legislation boosting those powers. Congressional debates over the plan are complex by pending government funding deadlines and partisan disagreements over local versus federal control of D.C.funds.
some lawmakers emphasize the symbolic importance of investing in the capital to reflect national values,despite massive national debt concerns. Others warn against providing a “slush fund” to the district without strong fiscal guardrails. the proposal highlights tensions between conservative fiscal restraint, local governance, and Trump’s agenda to tackle crime and urban revitalization in Washington, D.C.
Trump’s $2 billion DC ‘beautification’ plan forcing fiscal hawks to stomach more spending
President Donald Trump’s hope to funnel federal funds to “beautify” the nation’s capital with new streets, infrastructure, and crime prevention efforts is facing resistance from conservatives in Congress who are concerned about the national debt.
Budget hawks are offering tepid support for the $2 billion price tag for a liberal town they frequently criticize as mismanaged, saying the money would be contingent on spending cuts elsewhere and oversight guardrails on local officials.
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“What are you going to offset it with?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said. “Try to do it like regulations: for every one in, two out, right? So, how about $4 billion for savings?”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the libertarian known for bucking his party, said his support would be dependent “on what the money does” amid a lack of trust that the district’s Democratic leaders are “going to do the right thing.”
Trump’s informal request’s timing further complicates its passage, despite being supported by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.
House Republicans have so far made no effort to restore $1 billion in the district’s own local funding frozen by Congress, and lawmakers are locked in contentious bipartisan talks over funding the entire federal government ahead of an Oct. 1 fiscal cliff, when a shutdown is set to kick in. Trump is also in the midst of a federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement, and his 30-day authority expiring next week will force congressional Republicans to either extend it or risk irking the president by allowing it to lapse.
In addition, House Republicans are weighing a tranche of bills targeting crime that would give the president’s federal takeover of the district a legislative boost. Trump maintains the ability to have National Guard troops and federal agencies continue to patrol city streets beyond his federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department.
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The $2 billion “is a good use of money for the taxpayer, if it’s paid for and within budgetary constraints and targeted,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a Freedom Caucus member who frequently bucks his party.
“But I don’t want to give a slush fund for stupid crap [to] D.C.,” he added.
Bowser, a Democrat and longtime Trump critic who’s offered only measured resistance since the president regained power, is friendly to the $2 billion proposal that Trump has cast as part of a sweeping GOP agenda to tackle crime in a city he refers to as a “hellhole.” However, details of what the spending may entail remain somewhat vague.
Earlier this year, Republicans crafted a stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown that handled Washington’s budget like a government agency’s, rolling back $1 billion in discretionary funding fiscal hawks deemed “wasteful.” But the money was local funding from the district, not the federal government. The Senate unanimously reversed the decision, but the House has not addressed the matter.
House GOP leadership previously blamed a lack of movement on the funding fix because of work on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” However, the lower chamber has yet to take action since the measure was passed and signed into law in July.
The district’s overall concern over managing its own money extends to how it may treat the $2 billion. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Freedom Caucus vice chairman, criticized Bowser’s friendlier demeanor toward the Trump administration as too politically convenient to hand her the reins of revitalization funds.
“The mayor, while bragging on him now, was very critical,” Norman said. “Take it out of the hands of bureaucrats that run Washington, D.C.”
Still, there exists a strong desire among Republicans more broadly to fulfill Trump’s vision of a revitalized district with reduced crime and enhanced curb appeal, areas of GOP criticism that the city’s residents and elected leaders say are blown out of proportion by the president and his supporters. The nation’s capital was visited by a record-setting 27 million people last year, accounting for $11.4 billion in tourist spending and $2.3 billion in tax revenue.
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Rep. Will Timmons (R-SC), who defined himself as “one of the biggest fiscal hawks,” described $2 billion as but a drop in the bucket for a nation with $37 trillion in debt and an annual deficit topping $2 trillion.
“If this place doesn’t show the world what our country can and will be, it’s all for naught,” Timmons said. “So, I have no problem spending the money to make this place what it should be.”
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