Four massive bronze horses positioned along the roads surrounding the Lincoln Memorial still shine in the sun from their first restoration in the 1970s. But their gold-toned coating is faded and patchy, and their heavy stone bases are cracked and dirty.

The Trump administration wants them glittering with a fresh coat of gold in time for America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. So in mid-April, the National Park Service handed a $5 million contract to a gilding studio in Maryland to repair the statues and cover them with a thick layer of 23.75-karat gold leaf.

It awarded the project without a full competition, according to NPS documents reviewed by NOTUS.

As Trump hurries to put his stamp on a city he’s long denigrated as crumbling and ugly, his administration has doled out tens of millions of dollars for contracts with short timelines and little oversight.

In total, the Interior Department is spending at least $95 million in taxpayer funds for new D.C. beautification projects, according to a NOTUS review of government spending data. All of the projects identified by NOTUS were initiated between December 2025 and April of this year. About $20 million in contracts, including the gilding of the four horses, have not previously been reported.

“It is within the realm of reason to say: It’s the 250th anniversary that’s coming up, and instead of spending a hundred million dollars we normally spend on the District of Columbia, we want to spend $250 million. That’s perfectly normal,” said one former General Services Administration official, making up the dollar amounts to illustrate their point. “What is not normal is the lack of transparency.”

Scaffolding is being constructed around four bronze horses in preparation for a 23.75-karat gold leaf update. Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS

In mid-April, the National Park Service hired The Gilders’ Studio in Maryland to restore the 80,000-pound statue pairs, known as the Arts of War and Arts of Peace. According to agency documentation, the gilding company is covering the statues in an unusually thick layer of nearly pure gold — heavier and purer than even the “extra-thick” gold the same studio used to refinish the exterior of the Wyoming state capital dome seven years ago.

The $5 million contract includes more work than just the gold leafing, although the gold itself is certain to be a significant part of the cost, with the price of gold essentially doubling over the last several years.

The park service did not do extensive market research on whether the $5 million price was a fair one, according to agency documents reviewed by NOTUS. “Due to the urgent nature of this requirement, market research was limited to available historical data and publicizing a special notice to SAM.gov,” the agency wrote in its award notice in April. The special notice was posted online for only six days.

“Historical data available is minimal as these types of projects are rare for NPS; there are no comparable gilding projects of this monumental size, national significance, public visibility, or technical complexity in the Washington, DC area,” the agency wrote in its award document.

The Gilders’ Studio declined to comment. Other experts on gilding told NOTUS the studio is well-known and respected for its work, but not uniquely qualified over other companies.

“There are others that are also qualified that were not contacted, which I’m rather surprised about, because there’s plenty of people that could also do the same quality work,” said Peter Sepp, who runs a major gold-leaf supplier in New York.

The National Park Service handed a $5 million contract to a gilding studio in Maryland to cover the statues with a thick layer of 23.75-karat gold leaf. Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS

Several other contracting companies declined to comment, citing instructions from the NPS not to speak with the media. Multiple gilding experts declined to be named for fear of jeopardizing future relationships with the park service.

The Interior Department justified how the contract was awarded in an April document.

“Considering The Gilder’s Studio INC.'s unique combination of specialized experience and capability to complete a project with extraordinary national significance and an immovable deadline demonstrates that it is the only source capable of performing this requirement,” the Interior Department wrote.

Most of the $95 million being spent on D.C. beautification is being directed toward restoring fountains and making changes to D.C.’s parks. In addition to the $5 million for the gilding project, NPS is spending $3.6 million to rehabilitate Logan Circle and more than $5 million to repave the marble around the Simón Bolivar statue, a couple of blocks off of the National Mall.

Many of the projects have ended up costing more than originally planned.

At Meridian Hill park, $4 million was spent to renew the grass and trees across the park, in addition to $11.3 million to restore the fountains that tumble down the park’s lower half. The renovations to Meridian Hill Park alone cost $800,000 more than the price quoted in the original contracts.

The Freedom Plaza beautification project, originally priced around $9 million, jumped by around $500,000 in costs in April. A month later, a dozen new statues were installed in a rectangular shape around the edges of the park, resembling pieces on a chess board.

The Freedom Plaza beautification project includes a dozen new statues placed on edges of the park.
MediaPunch /IPX

Many of the contracts were awarded without a full and open competition, according to the government contracting database. Instead, the Trump administration applied laws that allow contracts to be awarded to minority-owned, women-owned, or small businesses without the full rigor of an open competition.

In one case, a company that primarily does trash collection, debris removal, and HVAC repairs for the federal government landed three contracts for fountain repairs and marble repaving, worth a total of about $6.5 million that will be paid within a single year. Before this year, Manguiri Contracting had never received a contract from the federal government worth more than $1 million.

Manguiri is now responsible for removing and replacing the marble paving at Simón Bolivar park. The company will also work on pavers at the MLK Jr. Memorial, as well as repair the fountains at the John Paul Jones Memorial on the National Mall and the Taras Shevchenko Memorial near Dupont Circle.

Manguiri did not respond to request for comment.

“President Donald J. Trump is fulfilling his commitment to make D.C. Safe and Beautiful as shown by record low crime rates and renovations to fountains and parks across the capital. This administration is ensuring that Promises Made are Promises Kept. Across the District, residents and visitors are excited to see the city revitalized to the grand destination it was meant to be,” an Interior Department spokesperson said.

In the case of the four bronze horses, NPS specifically cited its desire to have the project done by July 4 as a reason to award the contract without competition. When the park service published its brief public notice of the project in April, it said that any company wanting to submit a counteroffer had to be able to finish in less than four months.

“In accordance with Executive Order (EO) 14189, Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday, the NPS must have this work completed by July 4, 2026, to support DOl’s role in the national commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence,” the agency wrote.

“The Arts of War statues are currently being regilded ahead of our nation’s 250. This is the first time in 50 years these statues have been regilded,” an Interior spokesperson said in response to a list of questions about the project.

The statues have been slowly corroding and falling apart since they were first installed in 1951, plagued by problems that began during their construction, one local expert familiar with the statues told NOTUS. The park service made extensive repairs in the 1970s, but those did not fully address the underlying issues.

The National Parks Service cited its desire to have the glided project done by July 4 as a reason to award the contract without competition. Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS

Over the last several decades, several restoration experts have prepared reports for the Interior Department about corrosion and discoloration on the statues themselves, and about damage to their granite bases.The park service notice said that the bronze horses need cleaning, stabilization, and repairs. The statues sit on massive granite plinths, which also require repairs and stabilization.

It’s not clear whether it’s possible to fix all of these long-standing issues in the highly compressed time frame, one local expert said.

“We do know that anytime you rush something, there are always problems. Only time will tell, you know,” this person added.