In addition to dismantling federal agencies and undercutting states’ rights, Donald Trump has launched a systematic assault on the foundations of American democracy. He’s attacked the independence of the judiciary and the free press, politicized the Justice Department and intelligence agencies, and weakened the system of checks and balances meant to safeguard the republic.

In Trump world, the ideals of service and integrity have been traded for loyalty and retribution. Institutions that upheld democracy have become obstacles to the man with a plan that brings another hit to the moral infrastructure of the country.

While both parties bear responsibility for the shutdown, Democrats played a key role by refusing to back the funding bill unless it included their healthcare priorities. In standing firm, they made that rejection the defining moment of the deadlock — a choice driven by conviction, but one that helped bring the government to a halt.

However, instead of seeking resolution, Trump has threatened to furlough more federal workers—and to block the back pay those workers are legally owed.

And yet, amid all the churn, Trump has found time for another project.

The entire East Wing of the White House has been torn down to make way for a new addition—an extravagant, privately funded (unconfirmed) ballroom nearly twice the size of the main building itself.

When plans were first announced, Trump insisted the 90,000-square-foot structure, modeled after Mar-a-Lago, “won’t interfere with the current building. It’ll be near it but not touching it.”

So much for leaving history untouched.

It’s a far cry from the spirit in which the house was first conceived. In 1792, George Washington oversaw the design competition for what was then called the “President’s House.”  The goal was a residence that reflected the humility and virtue of a republic, not the excess of a crown.

Those early choices were not merely architectural; they were ethical. Washington understood that symbols matter—that the home of the president should reflect the humility of public service, not the arrogance of power. The White House was meant to embody us, not him.

So much for the people’s house.

When a council of architects recently warned the administration that such a drastic alteration to a national landmark required extensive review, the White House brushed it off. The official statement called the criticism “manufactured outrage from unhinged leftists,” insisting that President Trump’s ballroom was “a visionary addition” and “a beacon of American excellence.”

Ethics, like architecture, has a foundation. When you tear down the old and replace it with gold, you’re not just rebuilding, you’re redefining what leadership looks like. The East Wing may be the latest construction site, but the real demolition has already taken place in the moral framework that once guided this nation.

The founders believed that character was the cornerstone of democracy. Washington built a house that honored that belief. The question before us is whether we still have the character to match the vision we inherited and defend the republic Washington built, or watch it fade beneath the glitter of one man’s vanity.

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