A recent announcement that Donald Trump ordered replacement of the flagstone pavers in the colonnade walkway outside the Oval Office with black granite, the latest of many Trump-inspired “renovations” to the historic Executive Mansion, caused an on-line inquiry: what will be left of the White House by 2028?  Good question.  Razing the East Wing for a gigantic ballroom. Tearing out the Jacqueline Kennedy Rose Garden in favor of a Mar-A-Lago-style concrete patio complete with resort umbrellas. Shiny gold gewgaws dominating the Oval Office. A plan to change out the mansion’s simple Doric columns for ones in the fancier Ionic style, and a rumored redesign of the historic Treaty Room into another guest bedroom and bath.  These actions may reflect the efforts of a “builder-in-chief” known for hotels and golf courses but not the supposed leader of the free world.  The White House better have its liability insurance policy up to date since granite can be very slippery in the rain or snow, leading to potential hard falls, especially for his female aides in stiletto heels or his cabinet members wearing those new Florsheims that don’t fit.  

Every president since John Adams has been a steward, not the owner, of the Executive Mansion and its grounds, and every president until now has utilized discretion and respect for the history happening there for nearly 200 years under their predecessors.  Trump brags that he’s a builder, but he’s actually a destroyer.  Like a small child, he delights in watching things blow up or crash down, and then, when he is bored with that toy, walks away to let others clean up the mess.  However, the destruction of treasured and familiar places in and around the White House epitomizes a grave and more insidious devastation of our government and democracy.  The chaos and change that Trump has already done and is doing with bricks and mortar, is being replicated across multiple government departments that have long been relied on and trusted by the American people. 

The list is long, beginning with the Department of Justice (DOJ), crucial to the operation of our legal system.  Under unqualified Attorney General Pam Bondi, experienced lawyers are leaving DOJ in droves, the Civil Rights Division and other offices have been hollowed out, weaponizing investigations against Trump critics have hit a new low (or high), and the DOJ has become a private law firm with one client, Donald Trump. Rebuilding the values and expertise at DOJ will take at least a generation after Trump leaves office.  The Department of Education is nearly gone, and the Environmental Protection Agency has removed longtime protections – curbing provisions for clean air and clean water, lowering pollution limits for coal plants, and reversing the determination that greenhouse gases endanger human health.  Quixotic Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has upended decades of scientifically-verified recommendations for childhood vaccinations and other medical practices, and destroyed trust in any information coming out of the department and related agencies.  Trump and Kennedy also terminated U.S. membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) because of cost (the U.S. share estimated to be $680 million annually).  Instead, the Trump Administration proposes to spend $2 Billion annually to create an alternative international agency.  So much for reputation, efficiency, economy, and working collaboratively with our allies on health issues that can affect billions of people. 

Then there are decreases in foreign aid that protected millions of lives overseas, losses of personnel tasked with maintaining safety and security at U.S. airports,  rewriting of American history at the Smithsonian museums, and suggesting that the average American consumer save money and eat well for three dollars for a “piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing.”   

Razing, redesigning, and rebuilding the celebrated physical structures that have defined the Nation’s Capital for decades is difficult to stomach, but it is the steady and insidious destruction of government policies and departments of our Republic that is most dangerous.  Ordinary citizens may not be able to do much about the former, but we can do something about the latter – with our voices and our votes!