Trump and the GOP hold a rare trifecta of power. Instead of shrinking the deficit, they’re funding a $900 million White House makeover and a 250-foot ‘Triumphal Arch’ in Washington, DC.
What’s the latest on Trump’s gold horse statues?
Two regilded statues near Arlington Memorial Bridge gleam in 23.75-karat gold, sparking praise and debate.
If I woke up in 2026 from a 20-year cryogenic freeze and someone handed me the numbers on our economy and asked which party was running things, I’d guess Democrats, hands down. That’s not a good look for President Donald Trump or the Republican Party, which now holds a slim but coveted trifecta of power.
The Treasury Department reported that July’s deficit hit a record $432 billion, bringing the 2026 fiscal year’s total shortfall to nearly $1.8 trillion with two months still to go. That’s already more red ink than all of fiscal 2025.
It’s also the worst monthly deficit since March 2021, back when COVID-19 relief spending was breaking the budget.
In other words: The party that claims to stand for fiscal responsibility is spending our money into oblivion. I’m sick of it.
I had good reasons to vote for Trump. But electing a populist always came with caveats, and those tendencies are starting to show.
Neither he nor GOP leaders seem committed, or even interested, in advancing a conservative legislative agenda, particularly on spending.
Trump focuses on costly DC, White House renovations using our money
Now more than halfway through the second year of his second term, Trump’s attention seems fixed on two costly projects that have nothing to do with policies that would actually help Americans: his war with Iran, and his effort to revitalize the White House and Washington, DC.
The Trump administration is planning to spend at least $900 million on White House construction, The Washington Post reported Aug. 12 – much of it taxpayer money, none of it approved by Congress.
When Trump first pushed for a ballroom, paid for by private donors and pitched as a security upgrade, I didn’t mind. Given the assassination attempts he’s survived, it’s reasonable that this and future administrations need a secure place to hold events. But that project has since ballooned into something much bigger.
In a new White House video posted to social media, “The Capital: Restored,” the “Game of Thrones” theme plays over AI-generated footage of the administration’s renovations – including restored fountains at Dupont Circle and Union Station – before ending with the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk transforming into the Iron Throne.
Trump has also proposed a 250-foot neoclassical “Triumphal Arch” to mark America’s 250th anniversary.
The nation’s capital should be beautiful, a reflection of the best of America. These projects are a sliver of the federal government’s wasteful spending overall, but the president does seem oddly fixated on creating an American Versailles while the deficit balloons.
A White House correspondent recently said renovations like these occupy 70% of Trump’s mind. I hope she’s wrong. Because if she’s not, that’s not just egomaniacal but also expensive, with little tangible benefit for the taxpayers footing the bill.
Republicans are squandering their majority as midterms loom
On cultural and policy issues – such as securing the border, cutting taxes, emphasizing responsibility and patriotism – the GOP still looks wholly different from the Democratic Party. But on government spending, Republican leadership looks a lot like the Democrats.
As the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has found, excessive spending doesn’t discriminate by party. Trump and President Joe Biden each approved trillions of dollars in new 10-year borrowing during their first terms. And guess what: Trump approved more than Biden did.
The Republican Party’s overspending is having real-world effects, too. Republicans and Democrats have fallen almost equally out of favor with voters.
Affordability is a massive crisis. New York Federal Reserve data shows delinquency rates ticked up for auto loans and mortgages and remain elevated for credit cards. Slashing government spending wouldn’t fix affordability overnight, but not doing it raises the risk of inflation, which makes everything cost more.
Trump and Republicans campaigned on restoring America’s “Golden Age.” But a Golden Age shouldn’t look like flowing fountains and French-style arches.
For decades, one of conservatism’s core tenets (and the GOP’s) was balanced budgets, low debt and a small federal government. That’s been eroding since at least the George W. Bush administration. On spending and debt, the left has won the argument, both philosophically and in practice. That’s disastrous for all Americans.
Our two political parties shouldn’t be indistinguishable from each other. I’d like to think that if I woke up from my 20-year coma – dazzled by smartphones and disgusted by the lack of flying cars – I’d still have the clarity to look at Trump and GOP leaders and ask: All that power, and for what?
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.