Donald Trump is furious at the ongoing renovation of the US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel restoration project near Colorado Springs. He posted on Truth Social, “The United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel has been a CONSTRUCTION DISASTER from the time it was built in 1962. The earlier stories are that it leaked on Day One, and that was the good part. Hundreds of Millions of Dollars have been spent. This mess should be investigated. Very unfair to the Cadets—A COMPLETE ARCHITECTURAL CATASTROPHE!”
He has called for an investigation into the renovation, saying it isn’t going according to the allotted budget. The restoration of the chapel began in 2019 with a budget of $158 million. However, costs have ballooned since asbestos was discovered in the structure. The Pentagon later approved an additional $177 million, bringing the total to $335 million.
The project is being overseen by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center. The extra funding aims to improve the chapel’s watertightness and structural integrity — issues that have plagued the building since it opened more than sixty years ago. The completion date has now been pushed to 2028.
Over the past few months, Trump has been obsessed with his construction and renovation projects during his second term. He even signed an executive order titled “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” which mandated classical design standards for new federal buildings.
The order from the White House mentioned, “It is time to update the policies guiding Federal architecture to address these problems and ensure that architects designing Federal buildings serve their clients, the American people.”
The “Arc de Trump” 😂has been unveiled as an architect’s rendering of a huge triumphal arch to mark the USA 250th anniversary.
The stone arch would be constructed just across the Potomac from the Lincoln Memorial – soaring above that memorial’s 99-ft height – bearing a strong… pic.twitter.com/B8IqrMXmfH
— Mr Pål Christiansen (@TheNorskaPaul) October 12, 2025
Donald Trump is ambitious with his new plans to build an arch on the other side of the Potomac River similar to the Lincoln Memorial in scale. He made the revelation using a miniature model of the arch over his lavish dinner with the billionaires.
Then there is the most talked about addition to the Oval Office—gold medallions, rococo mirrors, and eagle figurines. Meanwhile, his $200 million ballroom project is still in the works. Several critics have questioned Trump’s ornate gold-themed décor choices for the White House, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing even more lavish architectural projects.
