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Democrats won Congress. What might happen to Trump’s construction projects now?

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Democrats won Congress. What might happen to Trump’s construction projects now?

The future of President Donald Trump’s construction and renovation projects in Washington, D.C., could soon come into question, after Democrats take control of Congress in January.

Trump has powered his pet projects through by sheer force of will since retaking office last year, setting a breakneck pace for ideas moving from blueprint to construction site. Disregarding legally mandated approval processes and protocols, his administration has knocked down buildings and torn up trees without permission.

Though legal challenges have, at times, slowed projects like the White House ballroom, arch monument, a D.C. golf course, and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts renovations, they haven’t been effective.

The landscape is shifting, however. Once the the next Democrat-led Congress is in place, changes to the built environment will face oversight that Republicans didn’t previously provide. This is how it might shake out.

First, Democrats will get two ex officio seats on the 12-person National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC)—the federal government’s D.C.-area planning agency—that are reserved for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives members. The president appoints some members of the commission, and there are others who are there because of their job titles.

Democrats will replace Senator Rand Paul and Representative James Comer, both Kentucky Republicans, with their own people. Those two new members of the commission could join with the District of Columbia’s four members, who have consistently voted against Trump’s building priorities, to block his projects from passing with a tied 6-6 vote.

Second, Democrats will have standing to sue in federal court on behalf of the Senate and House, using Senate and House counsel.


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