Washington D.C. under siege again

August 24, 1814, Red Coats invaded Washington D.C., ravaging and burning the Capitol in retaliation for Americans looting and burning York (today’s Toronto) – The War of 1812. At the White House, dinner for 40 had been prepared for a social gathering – the Redcoats sat, ate the meal, drank the wine, burned down the White House. Dolley Madison had famously departed just prior to the Red Coats’ arrival taking with her documents, some furnishings and the 8-foot, unfurled Gilbert Stuart portrait of Washington, a replica, to assure its not being fouled or brandished by the British.At the conclusion of the war, Congress debated moving the Capitol to Cincinnati but Washington DC and its buildings were renovated, the White House reopened in 1817, with Washington’s Portrait proudly displayed.Washington DC – the people’s city once again flourished.

211 years later, after the Red Coats, came Trump.In October 2025 the East Wing of the White House was demolished without advance public notice or approval of the National Capital Planning Commission or Congress.With private funding and speed the East Wing was torn down in weeks to make room for an elaborate, unreviewed, unapproved, out-of-portion 90,000 square foot State Ballroom. The speed of the demolition, privately funded by billionaires seeking favor, precluded court intervention - moot to sue the gaping hole where once stood the East Wing.57% of the public disapproved of the demolition at their White House.

Two weeks after President Kennedy’s assassination, Congress passed into law legislation renaming the in-development National Cultural Center – spearheaded by Eisenhower in his administration - to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as a “living memorial” to Kennedy tragically assassinated in Dallas. Then in February 2025, shortly after his inauguration, Trump replaced the Kennedy Center’s Board with Trump allies naming himself Board chairman. In December, 2025, the Center’s newly elected Board voted to rename the “living memorial” to Kennedy, as legislated by Congress, to the Trump-Kennedy Center. Chaos ensued. February 1, 2026, after months of failures to retain performers, retain audiences, retain donors, the Board, with an unprofitable mess, voted to close the Center for two years while stripping it down to its core metal structure.The “living memorial” to Kennedy, an architectural icon, was now voted by Trump’s Board to be demolished. Several Court cases are pending

Housing the Vice President’s Office among Treasury and Department of Defense offices, what is next on the Trump raze and redo list is the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB).November 2025, on Laura Ingraham’s Fox TV show, Trump announced his intent to power wash, point and paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) opened in 1888 – a huge building of cut and polished Maine granite. Immediate court cases have been filed claiming any change to the EEOB’s exterior is subject to analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act and must comply with the National Historical Preservation Act.Trump wants EEOB painted white….painting and power washing is assessed as detrimental to the granite building.

Additionally, Trump has proposed a 250-fifty-tall triumphal arch – Independence Arch- to be constructed directly across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.Officially the arch is said to mark the nation’s 250th celebration, though when asked who the monument would honor Trump replied “Me”.Of course, lawsuits have been filed as no congressional or agency approvals have been obtained.Concerns about the Arch and its location include that it sits along flight paths to Reagan Airport hindering low flying planes – an airport hazard - and that, so situated it, would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial as well as block the historic site line from Arlington Cemetery to the Memorial.Lawsuits are pending.

Although Trump touted a landslide electoral victory in 2024, he did not receive a majority but a plurality of the vote - he tallied the smallest win since 1900.Amid a war, a massive Epstein scandal of which he may be a party, the questions of what his son-in-law, Jared, is doing officially negotiating peace in Ukraine, Gaza and now Iran while he is openly seeking massive investments from the Middle East for his own financial company.

Trump is pulling apart the people’s places, DC once again is under siege. History, historic significance, character are not in Trump’s preview – nor seemingly is the law.

Kathy Herald-Marlowe lives in Sharon.