WASHINGTON, DC — A series of
federal court rulings are halting President Trump’s determined efforts to give billions of tax dollars to promote his desires to remake the Smithsonian, rebuild federally-owned golf courses, pay money to people who attacked the Capitol and elect local politicians who champion his causes.
The federal courts have issued numerous orders, ruling Trump’s actions illegal and halting them. The White House has repeatedly issued statements from Trump via his social media platform saying the judges should be “ashamed“ of their actions. Former Vice President Mike Pence told CBS news in a substantual interview this week that he supports the judges, echoing lawmakers who worked hard to restore peace at the Capitol to enable the peaceful transfer of power in January of 2021.
More than half a dozen popular stars who were set to appear on stage for the big America 250 Anniversary celebration this summer on the National Mall have announced they will not perform, citing public confusion over who is convening the event. The well-known artists include: Young MC, The Commodores, Milli Vanilli, Martina McBride and Brett Micheals. Also, the Smithsonian is set this week to debut an exhibition, for a limited viewing, of 30 artifacts that trace US history to celebrate 250 years of America’s independence from Great Britain, calling the display “American Aspirations.”
“America has never reached the promised land, but it has founding documents that inspire us to try to get there,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and former director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, explaining the Smithsonian exhibit. “The word ‘pursuit’ is so powerful. We’re in pursuit of liberty. We’re in pursuit of freedom. We’re better than we once were, but we’re still in pursuit of that,” he explained to the Washington Post.
Bunch, who helped bring into the museum the TB Boyd collection of historical items from Nashville, helped the museum escape cuts made by President Trump.
Representative Joyce Beatty, Democrat from Ohio in office since 2013, sued her fellow Trustees in December after they voted to rename the Kennedy Center the Trump-Kennedy Center. She said she was muted during the virtual meeting when she voiced opposition to the name change. A federal judge has since ordered that the name “Donald J. Trump” be stricken from the John F. Kenneday Center for the Performing Arts and that plans to close it for a two-year renovation be put on hold, based on her petition to US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper.
“Today’s ruling rightly affirms that this administration’s efforts to rename and close the Center have no basis in law,” Beatty said. “The Kennedy Center is an institution that belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump. He has desecrated this sacred memorial for his own vanity. I am proud to have fought for the rule of law and protect this sacred institution.”
On foreign policy, the President continues to be frustrated by his unsuccessful attempts to bring the Middle East crises to a conclusion. Also, efforts to influence state elections in the South appear puzzling as long-time supporters of Trump have been rejected by Trump during their campaignes for reelection.
Another round of court filings concerning Trump relate to a local golf course long hidden from public view. The President has decided the historic East Potomac Golf Course, a public course owned by the National Park Service. Earlier this spring, Trump struck a deal with the Interior Department to make the course PGA-class at a cost running into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Many locals are unhappy with the changes and the cost. Trump has dumped soil from his White House East Wing project onto the course, which has not pleased anyone. Long-time course users are unhappy and the courts are intervening, with the latest reports saying the unwelcome dirt is contaminated with toxic metals.
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