White House officials secretly awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Clark Construction for the construction of an East Wing ballroom, bypassing standard federal competitive bidding procedures.
The contract was routed through the Executive Residence, a White House office typically responsible for routine repairs, furniture purchases, art acquisitions, and general upkeep of the Executive Mansion.
That office is exempt from the competitive bidding requirements that govern most federal agencies, allowing officials to award the contract without public disclosure or soliciting rival bids.
Trump personally negotiated some construction costs, including haggling with a Clark subsidiary over concrete pricing on March 4, less than a week into his administration’s conflict with Iran.
Records show Trump successfully reduced the concrete contract by $2.3 million, bringing the total cost of the material down from its original figure to $47 million during those direct negotiations.
Clark charged a 3 percent profit margin on early East Wing work, which is standard for large government construction projects, but the company still stands to earn tens of millions of dollars from the overall contract.
In an email exchange in early September, White House officials justified the no-bid award by citing a federal law authorizing the president to spend freely on the “care, maintenance, repair, alteration, refurnishing, improvement, air-conditioning, heating, and lighting” of the White House residence.
Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, stated on the contract that bids were not solicited because “the disclosure of the executive agency’s needs would compromise the national security.”
A federal judge rejected that justification in March, ruling that presidential authority over White House modifications does not extend to demolishing the East Wing and constructing a new ballroom in its place.
Former General Services Administration official Anthony Costa, who oversaw complex government real estate projects across four presidential administrations, said competitive bidding should have been used given the project’s scale.
“I would certainly expect them to compete a project of this size and complexity,” Costa said, underscoring concerns among procurement experts about taxpayer value and oversight on a project of this magnitude.
Clark’s internal cost estimates for the project escalated sharply, rising from $200 million in July 2025 to $600 million by March 2026, reflecting significant scope changes and growing construction complexity.
Following the contract signing, Clark notified the White House of plans to award no-bid subcontracts to at least 11 firms covering demolition, abatement, excavation, fencing, and other essential services.
A White House spokesperson defended the arrangement, saying the contract was routed through the Executive Residence because that office “will be the primary support of the facility” and that it “consistently executes contracts following the law.”
