Trump’s staff rushed to add new renovations to the White House - so they’d be in place for his 80th birthday
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Donald Trump’s unknown birthday president has been revealed - with the White House getting some new chandeliers through another no-bid contract.
Four new light fixtures were installed in the West Wing just ahead of the president’s June birthday. The Washington Sun was the first outlet to report the renovations.
In early June, the White House contracting documents detailed “urgent” work to install the chandeliers. The paperwork set a specific deadline for the work.
“This must happen over the weekend as these must be in place before the June anniversary events,” the document read, according to the Sun.
That weekend was the same as Trump’s 80th birthday and featured a UFC fight on the White House lawn. The weekend included several activities tied to the celebration of America’s 250th - but also Trump hitting the milestone.
The work was done through a no-bid contract with Agile1Tech, a Virginia-based company, according to the Sun . It was the same company that created the viewing/gaming room for the UFC fight.
The White House argued in the documents that the contract couldn’t be competitively bid because of the timing and the uniqueness of the ceilings.
“Agile1Tech is familiar with how to brace these chandeliers in a structure that may not support such weight,” the documents noted. “Based on the results of market research, the government determined that a limited number of vendors were available, but none possessed the capability to properly install a complex chandelier in a historic environment.”
That led to the installation of the four chandeliers in the West Wing.
The White House did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment. The Independent has also reached out to Trump officials about the chandeliers.
The chandeliers are the latest in Trump’s effort to remake the White House in his gold-filtered preference. The Oval Office has been decked out in gold decorations and picture frames that fill nearly every wall.
The president also added the letters in gold, “The Oval Office,” to the exterior of the famed room.
Trump’s renovations to the White House don’t stop there. He has torn down the East Wing to make room for his $330 million ballroom . Private donors covered most of the cost, and the work continues on the facility that dwarfs the rest of the White House.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.independent.co.uk — the content belongs to The Independent World.