Trump Unveils Another Secret White House Construction Project

In the middle of showing off work on the new White House helipad, President Trump unveiled yet another construction project, previously unknown to the public.

Trump told reporters to join him on the building’s South Lawn Wednesday where he excitedly revealed he replaced the asphalt on the White House’s driveway with white granite mined from California, CNN reports.

“This was always asphalt, which is very basic, not appropriate for a great house—for a great place like the White House,” Trump said over loud construction noise while gesturing at the newly redone driveway, which he described as made with a “very special stone.”

Trump then went on and on about the new helipad under construction at the White House, detailing how he made workers redo weeks of work on the project because he didn’t like the helipad’s angle.

“I felt it was too much slope. It’s a slope for the rain, but I felt it was too much slope,” Trump said, adding that the helipad was now “dead flat.”

“Sorry to take an extra week-and-a-half, but lifting it up was one of the best things we’ve ever done, lifting it up, right? I’m sure you didn’t like that,” Trump later told workers on the grounds.

Trump also bragged about new grass on the White House lawn, claiming that newly added topsoil has “a lot of good ingredients in that earth for grass. If you’re grass, you’re very happy.” Without any shame or worry about a conflict of interest, he then revealed the grass was “given free of charge by Scotts Miracle-Gro, Scotts. And Scotts is a great company. They actually contributed to my campaign, I must be honest, you’ll figure that one out.”

The president has spoken about his expensive pet construction projects, especially his White House ballroom, more than any other topic in 2026 except for the war in Iran, according to a Politifact analysis. It’s pretty obvious what Trump cares about more than anything else, and it comes at the expense of the American people.

A woman has accused California Democratic Representative Jimmy Gomez of sexually assaulting her.

This comes two days after the House Ethics Committee announced a probe into Gomez for reports of sexual misconduct—which Gomez claimed were “consensual” and “personal mistakes outside [his] marriage.” This most recent allegation contradicts that, and of course raises the seriousness of an already troubling allegation.

“We represent one of the women who was interviewed by the House Committee on Ethics about her experience of sexual harassment and assault by Representative Jimmy Gomez,” her attorneys wrote in a statement. “Contrary to Representative Gomez’s assertion in his statement, his actions were not ‘consensual in nature’ with respect to our client. We fully expect that the House Committee on Ethics will come to the same conclusion in its investigation.”

The initial ethics probe was triggered by a New York Post report that accused Gomez of kissing a young female congressional aide in 2023. Gomez was close personal friends with disgraced former California Representative Eric Swalwell, who himself resigned in April amidst multiple sexual assault allegations.

Gomez’s development adds him to the growing, bipartisan list of sitting congressmen who have either been accused, investigated for, or stepped down after sexual assault and/or misconduct allegations in the last two years. The list includes Representatives Cory Mills, Max Miller, Matt Gaetz, Tony Gonzales, Swalwell, and Gomez.

Gomez has yet to comment on the heightened accusations.

The Department of Justice is arguing that it is not independent from President Trump even as it tries to claim that the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey isn’t vindictive.

In a court filing Tuesday, federal prosecutors argued that “The Chief Executive directing his subordinates to exercise core Executive functions is a feature, not a bug, of our constitutional system,” claiming that the idea that the DOJ is independent from the president is “antithetical to the constitutional separation of powers,” and, “as a matter of historical analysis, it is a myth.”

At the same time, the DOJ tried to argue that the charging prosecutor in the case against Comey, U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle, acted independently from Trump without any pressure from his superiors.

“No one ordered or even suggested that Boyle pursue the ongoing investigation or seek an indictment,” the filing said, contending that Attorney General Todd Blanche didn’t discuss the case with Boyle until the day before the trial.

Comey is trying to have the case dismissed, filing a motion on the grounds that Trump was deeply involved in the case, pointing to Trump’s Truth Social post directing former Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after him as proof. Trump also requested that Secret Service agents questioning the former FBI director send their notes to him to review.

Comey is facing federal charges because the government is trying to argue that his 2025 social media post of seashell art reading “86 47” constituted a threat of violence against the president. Comey asserts that his indictment “effectuates a yearslong campaign by the President to use the criminal process to punish Mr. Comey for his protected speech and because of the President’s deep-seated animosity.”

The DOJ’s own actions seem to back up the claim that Trump is only trying to get revenge on Comey for trying to stay independent during his FBI tenure, instead of pledging unconditional loyalty to the president.

There appears to be a late summer exodus occurring at the White House, as a large chunk of Treasury Department employees have vacated the premises—along with press secretary Karoline Leavitt and another high-ranking aide. 

NOTUS reported Wednesday that seven of Trump’s 16 Senate-confirmed appointees have either been fired from or left the Treasury Department. Four of those seven left after specific disapproval of the Trump administration’s efforts to bend and/or break tax law—including attempts to use taxpayer data from the IRS to aid in deportations and to create the president’s $1.776 billion anti-weaponization slush fund.  

This comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already had three different chiefs of staff.

“They’re asking them to do stuff that is well beyond the norm, and for some things that may or may not be legal,” Mark Mazur, a former high-ranking IRS employee who also served as acting assistant secretary for tax policy under former President Joe Biden, told NOTUS. “A lot of these people expect to have a career after this administration, and being disbarred would be a bad thing for them.”

Outside Treasury, an aide to Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Emily Underwood, is also leaving her post, according to Axios. She’ll be entering venture capital, and will be replaced by Caleb Orr, an adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Leavitt will also be leaving her position as White House press secretary at the end of the month.

While high rates of turnover and sudden exits have always been a key feature of Trump’s administrations, the timing of these most recent departures should still raise alarm. Trump’s own appointees are leaving in the midst of a flailing, costly war on Iran, a general affordability crisis, horrid approval ratings for Trump, and an ominous slate of upcoming elections that threaten Republicans’ congressional majority. 

The Treasury Department has not officially commented on the departures. 

Following embattled Cory Mills’s major loss Tuesday in Florida’s Republican primary elections, President Trump took to Truth Social to publicly distance himself from the disgraced MAGA lawmaker—and endorse his opponent, Ryan Elijah.

“I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race, but he wouldn’t listen,” Trump wrote Wednesday. “He thought he could win, so who can blame him?”

“We now have a great candidate, Ryan Elijah, running in his place! Ryan stands for EVERYTHING MAGA, and is respected by ALL. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump added.

Trump announced his endorsement for Mills in February, and remained quiet as the numerous allegations against the Florida lawmaker stacked up in the ensuing months. Mills has been accused of sexual misconduct, harassment, campaign finance violations, financial disclosure violations, accepting inappropriate gifts, and multiple ethics violations. He has faced a months-long ethics probe and is reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice.

In 2024, Trump carried Mills’s district by 12 points. When the outcome of Tuesday’s primary race was called, Mills trailed his opponent by the same margin. No wonder the president is suddenly interested in switching sides—only after the ballots have already been cast.