The Ballroom, the Arch, and the Rush-Job Presidency

“Construction is notoriously slow-going work. But in Donald Trump’s Washington, cranes and bulldozers appear like DoorDash deliveries: fast, frictionless, and on demand,” The Atlantic reports.

“To build the president’s White House ballroom, roughly 250 workers have been pouring concrete and installing steel framework, keeping the site humming for 20 hours a day, seven days a week. The National Park Service has proposed a similarly intensive schedule for Trump’s planned triumphal arch… These are very different and ambitious projects, but they share the same presumed deadline: January 20, 2029.”

“They also share a risk: The compressed schedules could lead to shoddy work that will require more repairs later.”