CREW requests DHS documents on Trump’s WH fence cost
CREW received Secret Service records that put the cost of fencing and associated equipment set up around the White House in response to peaceful protests for racial justice at more than $1.5 million.
Learn moreTaxpayers deserve to know how much they paid for Trump’s 1.4 mile fence around the White House that was constructed in response to protests and then began to be taken down over the course of 10 days.
On Monday, June 1, 2020, shortly before federal police violently cleared protestors from the area around Lafayette Park in DC, Trump announced that he would be taking swift and decisive action to quell protests. The following day, Washington’s downtown core was playing host to an even more substantial, heavily-militarized federal police presence and a reinforced, eight-foot fence began to surround the White House complex and the park.
CREW has requested DHS documents on the purchase, leasing, transportation, installation, or removal of the fence.
The public deserves clarity on how much this fence cost them and how necessary the fence actually was. As of now, the reasoning behind the fence remains unclear. A White House spokesperson said they could not comment on White House security measures. The Secret Service has noted a vague national security reason, but given the enormous existing police presence and that the protests in Washington featured no notable violence after June 1, there remain open questions as to the necessity of the enhanced perimeter. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser also expressed alarm about the precedent that installing the fence would bring. If Trump is erecting costly structures in the absence of true risk or security reason, then taxpayers at the very least deserve to know the full cost of the bill they’re footing.