Stop Funding Trump's Vanity Renovations

Congress holds the power of the purse, and right now that power is being used to fund a $253,000 bowling alley glow-up at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That's not a typo. The GSA awarded nearly a quarter million dollars to Charles Mann Enterprises just for lighting work in a private recreational space — while millions of Americans are struggling to get by. The hypocrisy here is staggering. In 2014, Republicans forced the GSA to cancel a similar bowling alley renovation under Obama and even passed a House amendment explicitly prohibiting that funding. Reince Priebus mocked it on Twitter. Pat Meehan called it a "want," not a "need." Those same standards must apply now. The bowling alley is just one line item — Trump has also burned through $16 million on a botched Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation and is building a $600 million ballroom. This is a pattern of reckless, self-serving spending. Use your authority to block these appropriations. Attach riders to spending bills that prohibit taxpayer funds from being used on White House vanity projects. The standard Republicans set in 2014 was the right one — hold this administration to it.

First sent on September 1 by Progressive Action