'Terrible waste': DOJ spent big to hang banners with Trump's face
A new report found that the Department of Justice spent hundreds of thousands and possibly more to hang banners with President Donald Trump's face.
According to reporting by Politico, the DOJ spent nearly a million dollars to unfurl banners from its Washington headquarters featuring an image of Trump scowling.
The DOJ signed a contract in January for an "RFK Beautification Project" to clean the building's exterior walls, upgrade the facade lighting system, and install "Celebratory Banners," Politico reported. The total price of the contract was more than $892,000, along with another $55,000 charge for the project added as a "supplemental agreement."
"Not only is this a terrible waste of Americans' hard-earned money," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told Politico, "it is clearly against the law."
Schiff said in a statement last week that he found a $39,000 contract from the Department of the Interior for similar banners and another for up to $114,000 for banners at the Federal Aviation Administration, Politico reported.
However, Politico noted that in records it obtained, officials blacked out the line-item that would have revealed the cost of creating and hanging the Trump banners.
The DOJ hung its banners earlier this year at the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, also known as Main Justice. The banners feature Trump's face above the phrase "MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN," per Politico.
"The banners were part of a broader beautification project for the historic RFK building, executed under an existing DOJ construction contract," a DOJ spokesperson said. "We are proud at this Department of Justice to celebrate 250 years of our great country, and our historic work to make America safe again at President Trump’s direction."
An anonymous DOJ official told Politico that a contract was signed "due to the urgent nature of this requirement and to ensure it was completed prior to the 250th anniversary."