‘Auramaxxing’: How the Trump administration is beautifying DC ahead of America 250

‘UNELECTED MAYOR OF DC’: TRUMP CONTINUES WASHINGTON MAKEOVER DESPITE BACKLASH

What are the various projects happening across the district?

The White House told the Washington Examiner that 22 fountains and about 30 statues are being refurbished ahead of the festivities this summer. In addition to these larger projects, maintenance crews have fixed thousands of benches and streetlights, installed over 130 rat-proof trash cans, cleaned debris from district ponds, and repaired potholes.

Many of the projects in the district are concentrated in tourist-heavy areas such as the National Mall and Tidal Basin, but stretch throughout much of the city and into Arlington, Virginia.

The Trump administration is also installing six new statues in Washington, D.C., according to the White House. One of these statues is a monument to Caesar Rodney, a founding father from Delaware and a prominent slaveholder, which has been installed in Freedom Plaza.

Rodney’s statue had stood in Wilmington, Delaware, for decades because of his horseback ride to Philadelphia in July 1776 to break the state’s gridlock and vote in favor of the Declaration of Independence. Rodney’s statue was removed from Wilmington and put in storage after protesters in 2020 drew attention to the fact that he owned over 200 slaves on his Dover, Delaware, plantation.

The Rodney statue is the latest controversial statue, initially taken down in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s murder, that the Trump administration resurrected. In October 2025, Trump ordered a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike to be restored in Judiciary Square.

The White House also told the Washington Examiner that, ahead of the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Interior Department has cleared 153 homeless encampments and erased over 500 instances of graffiti across the city.

Which fountains are getting restored?

Though the Trump administration’s efforts to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and reopen the Meridian Hill Park fountains have garnered much media attention, 22 fountains have undergone renovations ahead of July 4. Here’s the full list from the White House, including some of the smaller water features sprinkled throughout the city:

• American Veterans Disabled for Life fountain
• Bolivar Memorial Park fountain
• Columbus Circle fountain
• Dupont Circle Fountain
• FDR Memorial fountains
• Freedom Plaza
• General Phillip Sheridan fountain
• George Mason Memorial fountain
• National Japanese American Memorial Fountain
• John Marshall Park fountain
• John Paul Jones fountain
• Kahil Gibran Memorial fountains
• Korean War Veterans Memorial fountain
• Lafayette Park fountains
• Meridian Hill Park fountains
• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial fountains
• National Law Enforcement Memorial fountain
• Rawlins Park fountain
• Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park fountain
• Theodore Roosevelt Memorial moats and fountains
• U.S. Navy Memorial fountain
• World War II Memorial fountain

Which statues are getting restored?

In addition to the six new statues being erected in Washington, D.C., dozens of preexisting statues are being cleaned or regilded ahead of the Independence Day festivities. Here’s a full list of the statues being refurbished from the White House, plus two more announced by the Department of the Interior last week.

• Captain John Paul Jones statue
• Dante in Meridian Hill Park
• Edmund Burke statue
• James Buchanan in Meridian Hill Park
• George Mason statue
• Nathaniel Green statue
• John Ericsson Monument
• John Marshall statue in John Marshall Park
• Casimir Pulaski in Freedom Plaza
• Two chess players in John Marshall Park
• John Witherspoon statue
• Theodore Roosevelt statue and monuments
• John A. Rawlins in Rawlins Park
• The Hiker statue at the United Spanish War Veterans Memorial
• Thomas Jefferson statue at memorial
• The Seabees Statues at the Arlington National Cemetery
• Bolivar Equestrian in Bolivar Park
• General Philip Sheridan Statue
• Joan of Arc in Meridian Hill
• General John Logan statue
• Caesar Rodney statue
• Commodore John Barry statue
• Alexander Hamilton statue outside the Treasury Department building
• Bernardo de Galvez statue
• George Washington at Washington Circle
• The Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial
• The new George Washington statue Trump added to the Rose Garden in 2025
• Taras Shevchenko statue
• Arts of War and Arts of Peace equestrian statues

How are the beautification projects being funded?

The Department of the Interior told the Washington Examiner that the agency is using multiple available funding mechanisms to bankroll the beautification projects, including various endowment funds and revenue from the sale of passes to national parks.

TRUMP REQUESTS OVER $10 BILLION FOR DC INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT

“The National Park Service has not only been focused on beautifying the district but has also been working on many deferred maintenance projects throughout the country. While other administrations have let the city fall into decay, President Trump has made Washington, D.C. Safe and Beautiful again and we should all be grateful,” an Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement.

According to a late May analysis from The New York Times, the Trump administration is using at least $67 million in National Park Service park entrance fees to fund the America 250 district beautification efforts. A recent Washington Post analysis based on internal NPS documents pegged that number at $76 million. The regilding of the Arts of War and Arts of Peace equestrian statues, alone, is costing $5 million, according to a report from NOTUS.