Inside Trump’s Mad Dash to Renovate Washington episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 1, 2026 · 38 MIN

Inside Trump’s Mad Dash to Renovate Washington

from The Daily · host Deborah Lebree

In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, President Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a major renovation of the nation’s capitol. David A. Fahrenthold, who has been investigating how the projects have come together, takes listeners on a walking tour of the sites being remade. Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, writing primarily about nonprofit organizations. Background reading:  See what’s wrong with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.A no-bid contract is turning the pool blue. Photo: Allison Robbert for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, President Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a major renovation of the nation’s capitol. David A. Fahrenthold, who has been investigating how the projects have come together, takes listeners on a walking tour of the sites being remade. Guest: David A. Fahrenthold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, writing primarily about nonprofit organizations. Background reading:  See what’s wrong with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.A no-bid contract is turning the pool blue. Photo: Allison Robbert for The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Inside Trump’s Mad Dash to Renovate Washington

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In the lead-up to America’s 250th anniversary, President Trump is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a major renovation of the nation’s capitol. David A. Fahrenthold, who has been investigating how the projects have come together, takes...

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