Back in March, President Donald Trump claimed that an expensive renovation to a White House pathway was paid for by himself personally, but on Friday, The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer revealed that the bill was actually footed by taxpayers.
The pathway in question connects the Oval Office to the White House’s central complex, a commute that takes all of 45 seconds to make, according to Scherer. Originally paved with Tennessee flagstone, a flat sedimentary rock, Trump instead wanted the pathway to be redone using “polished African granite, carved in Italy.”
CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked Trump in March who would be fitting the bill for the pathway renovation.
Scherer learned, however, that the renovation project actually cost taxpayers $689,232, and was taken from money earmarked for the National Park Service. Scherer also discovered another $347,503 that had been directed away from the National Park Service to pay for a “rush project at request of [Trump]” to help “affix gold frames and plaques mocking some of his predecessors.”
“This previously undisclosed spending is part of an enormous shift of taxpayer cash away from national parks around the country and into the Washington area,” according to The Atlantic report. “In order to pay for the president’s projects, the parks have had to cancel needed repairs, slash their budgets, and operate with fewer employees.”
Katie Miller, wife of President Donald Trump's adviser Stephen Miller, drew criticism on MS NOW's "Morning Joe" for a social media post celebrating a Supreme Court ruling on immigration policy.
On Friday, the panel was discussing Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion, which found nothing racist in Trump's comments about Somali and Haitian immigrants, prompting a dissent from Justice Elena Kagan.
Legal analyst Lisa Rubin highlighted Katie's X post, stating, "Great news for the dogs and cats of Springfield," referencing the debunked 2024 election conspiracy theory that Haitians were attacking pets in Springfield, Ohio.
Rubin said she gasped audibly when reading the post.
Co-host Jonathan Lemire noted that Stephen Miller, the policy's architect, celebrated the ruling, and other conservative figures, including Megyn Kelly, made "loathsome racist" comments about the decision.
“Stephen Miller did a victory lap yesterday. Other voices on the right, Megan Kelly in particular, said some pretty loathsome racist things you know, about this celebration, celebrating this decision,” Lemire added.