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WASHINGTON — <\/span>A federal judge weighing the future of an expansive Washington park insisted this week<\/a> she had no intention of becoming Amy Poehler<\/a>, the actress who spent seven seasons memorably playing the head of a local parks and recreation department.<\/p>\n But President Donald Trump<\/a> might be interested in the role.<\/p>\n Shortly after the United States and Iran exchanged fire<\/a> on Thursday, Trump made a quick jaunt to the National Mall to review the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a> that he ordered repainted a color he describes as \u201cAmerican flag blue.\u201d<\/p>\n The project has been on his mind lately. During an hour-plus speech Monday to small-business owners, Trump spent about nine minutes talking about the paint job, detailing the granite floor and boasting that he whittled the renovation’s cost to $1.9 million from what he said was an initial $350 million estimate.<\/p>\n Trump’s next project might be East Potomac Park, home to an affordable, accessible public golf course with views of the Washington Monument. <\/p>\n The Republican president has talked of transforming it into a posh \u201cU.S. Open-caliber course.\u201d Signs were posted this week warning of a disruption and preservation advocates took the government to court as debris dumped there from the White House East Wing demolition tested positive<\/a> for lead. <\/p>\n By late Friday, the nonprofit that operates the course<\/a> said it would continue managing the space until the National Park Service begins a \u201chistoric restoration.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the White House told a planning agency that it would cost taxpayers at least $7.5 million<\/a> to follow through on Trump’s plan to paint the granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building<\/a> white. <\/p>\n And that was just this week in Washington’s extreme makeover. <\/p>\n Over the past year, Trump has bulldozed the East Wing<\/a> to make way for a ballroom. His name was added to the facades of the U.S. Institute of Peace<\/a> and the Kennedy Center<\/a>, which he plans to close for a two-year renovation<\/a>. His face adorns a banner at the Department of Justice’s<\/a> headquarters, among others. He is pushing for a triumphal arch<\/a> near Arlington Cemetery and has closed parks, including Lafayette Square across from the White House, for a rehab. <\/p>\n Trump is guaranteeing himself a lasting imprint on a city where he won just 6.5% of the vote in 2024. He is flexing extraordinary executive power and offering fresh insight into how he spends his time, perhaps a president’s most valuable asset. <\/p>\n As the Washington projects unfolded this week, the ceasefire in Iran<\/a> was at risk of unraveling, motor club AAA said the average price of a gallon of gas surpassed $4.50 and elections provided new evidence of Democratic enthusiasm heading into the November elections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not a zero-sum game but obviously all presidents have limited amounts of capital they can use and limited amounts of attention that they have to give,\u201d said presidential historian Julian Zelizer of Princeton University. \u201cAnd he’s deciding, in a moment of war, a moment of economic instability, that this is a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump rejects such concerns. <\/p>\n Asked at the Reflecting Pool why he was focused on the project given the U.S. military action in Iran, he said, \u201cOur country is about beauty, cleanliness, safety, great people. Not a filthy capital.\u201d<\/p>\n For Republicans defending slim congressional majorities, it is not so simple. Many would prefer to talk about policy accomplishments, including tax cuts, rather than multimillion-dollar Washington construction projects.<\/p>\n While few directly criticize Trump, there is an acknowledgment that the party needs to confront economic realities.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of Americans are very worried about the cost of living and we need to address it,\u201d Sen. John Kennedy<\/a>, R-La., said recently.<\/p>\n A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted in late April found that 52% percent of Americans oppose Trump\u2019s planned arch. That includes about 6 in 10 independents. Some 51% of Republicans favor it.<\/p>\n Americans oppose the ballroom by a 2-to-1 margin, driven largely by Democrats and independents. About 2 in 10 Republicans oppose the project, according to the poll. The poll did not find a notable shift in support of the ballroom after a shooting at last month\u2019s White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner. Trump has cited that incident in his push for a secure facility, something he did not mention when he initially ordered the demolition of the East Wing.<\/p>\n Trump is showing no sign of backing away from any of the projects. In a sign of the GOP’s loyalty to him, Republican senators added $1 billion<\/a> in White House security upgrades for the ballroom to an unrelated bill this week. Trump initially said taxpayer money would not be needed. <\/p>\n In a city where historic preservation is often sacred, the pace of change has been dizzying.<\/p>\n Rebecca Miller, the executive director of DC Preservation League, has spent 23 years at the organization, which sued to stop the golf course takeover and joined a coalition attempting to force the Kennedy Center to comply with preservation laws. She said her organization has worked with administrations of both parties and called the Trump moves \u201chighly unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the problems that we have right now is an administration that seems to think that it can just plow ahead without any input,\u201d she said. \u201cThese assets are owned by the people of the United States. They’re not anybody’s personal portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Trump is \u201claser-focused on lowering costs for working families, deporting illegal criminals, keeping our cities safe, beautifying our nation\u2019s capital, and protecting our national security by ensuring Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n This is not the first time a White House has taken an interest in Washington’s appearance. <\/p>\n During Lyndon Johnson’s<\/a> administration, first lady Lady Bird Johnson oversaw beautification efforts that included planting trees and flowers throughout the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n Her efforts were sometimes derided as distractions from other pressing issues, such as the Vietnam War<\/a>. But she implemented them in coordination with local officials.<\/p>\n \u201cLady Bird Johnson was trying to bring out the natural beauty of Washington,\u201d said Mark Updegrove, chairman of the LBJ Foundation and a presidential historian. \u201cDonald Trump is trying to remake the nation’s capital in his own image.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump’s assertion of power over Washington, including the continued deployment of National Guard<\/a> troops, has animated the city’s Democratic primary next month for key local offices, including mayor and delegate to Congress. <\/p>\n