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The White House has declined a proposal from billionaire Elon Musk to personally cover the salaries of TSA employees during the ongoing partial government shutdown, despite the idea being reviewed at high levels, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Officials in the administration did examine the concept, but concerns quickly surfaced over potential legal complications. One source indicated that Musk’s extensive ties to federal contracts could make any such arrangement — even indirect — difficult to carry out within existing rules.

Another factor influencing the decision was the expectation within the White House that the shutdown may be resolved in the near future, sources said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt placed responsibility for the impasse on Democrats and urged immediate action to restore funding.

“It’s the Democrats who have led to this stalemate over the past six weeks,” Leavitt said Wednesday. “The president and the Republicans’ position has been very clear — fund the Department of Homeland Security.”

Musk had publicly floated the idea over the weekend, posting on his platform X: “I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country.”

President Donald Trump initially reacted favorably when asked about the offer, telling reporters Monday, “I’d love it. I think it’s great. Let him do that.”

According to sources, the total cost of covering TSA payroll during the shutdown would come to roughly $250 million.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Musk also did not issue further statements.

Within the administration, discussions included the possibility of Musk contributing funds to the federal government’s general treasury, which could then be used to compensate workers. However, existing ethics rules prohibit private individuals from directly paying federal employees, according to guidance from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson acknowledged the offer but underscored the obstacles. “We greatly appreciate Elon’s generous offer,” she said, adding, “This would pose great legal challenges due to his involvement with federal government contracts. The fastest way to ensure TSA employees — and all DHS employees — get paid is for Democrats to fund the Department of Homeland Security.”

As the shutdown continues, TSA employees are now on the verge of missing their second full paycheck. So far, they have received only a partial payment early in the shutdown period.

The agency’s acting chief said Wednesday that by the end of the week, TSA workers will have collectively lost about $1 billion in wages across the current 40-day shutdown and an earlier 43-day lapse in funding last fall.

Travelers have encountered a perfect storm of chaos at some U.S. airports in recent days, as spring break crowds jammed into short-staffed security lines.

On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered the mix, sent by President Donald Trump to assist Transportation Security Administration workers who are not being paid due to a partial government shutdown – and who are calling out of work in large numbers.

At some airports, hours-long lines have covered multiple levels or snaked outdoors. Some travelers have given up and rebooked their flights when it became clear they would not make it through security in time. Others reported sleeping at airports.

Democrats and civil rights groups have raised concerns about an ICE presence at airports, though administration officials have said they expect them to work in a supportive role to the TSA. Here’s what travelers should know.

Which airports have ICE agents been sent to?

The Department of Homeland Security said it would not confirm the locations for “operational security reasons,” but The Washington Post confirmed 14 airports with ICE officers Monday. The airports share a common trait: They have some of the highest callout rates – 41.5 percent at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, for instance, and 42.3 at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to DHS data from Sunday.

Nationwide, the agency reported 11.8 percent of TSA officers, or more than 3,450 employees, did not report for their shifts Sunday, the most absentees since the start of the partial government shutdown.

The airports with an ICE presence are:

• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH)
• Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
• Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
• Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)

Keith Jeffries, a former TSA director for Los Angeles International Airport, said DHS could dispatch ICE agents to other airports, especially ones with mounting callout rates.

What are ICE officers doing at airports?

TSA acting deputy administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News on Monday that ICE agents would be “conducting non-specialized security support – manning the exit lanes, crowd management, line control … to help alleviate the challenges that our officers are facing.”

In a statement, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport said ICE would be responsible for “supporting TSA operations in a non-screening role, including assisting with passenger flow and divesting.” The Ohio airport said the agents are not checking IDs or screening passengers.

Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, a District 3 manager of the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing federal workers, said at Pittsburgh International Airport, ICE will be in charge of crowd control and directing foot traffic, such as moving passengers to shorter lines – jobs, she said, that a volunteer could perform.

“They will be standing next to and working with people not getting paid, as ICE receives a paycheck,” Kraynak-Lambert said.

How long will ICE be at airports?

No specific timeline has been released, but agents have been deployed in response to TSA staffing shortages. Senators said late Monday that they were working on a deal to fund much of DHS, including TSA. An agreement could pave the way for airport operations to return to normal.

Will ICE agents substitute for TSA officers?

Not likely. They will be playing more of a supportive role than running operations, especially in the technologically advanced screening area.

“They clearly can’t come in and take over for TSA without a huge disruption, because do they know how to perform explosives-trace detection on hands or resolve an alarm? If somebody has a pacemaker, can they go through?” said John S. Pistole, a former TSA administrator. “There are all those subtleties and nuances that TSA officers are trained to understand.”

Jeffries said screening makes up about 80 percent of the TSA “pie.” To become a TSA officer, or TSO, recruits must commit to eight months of training on average.

The schooling starts with two weeks at a federal law enforcement center, where they learn how to operate the vast array of equipment found in the field. They next receive on-the-job training, often focusing on such basic tasks as checking documents, guarding exit lanes, pushing bins and reminding passengers to remove their coats and shoes, if applicable, and toss their liquids.

Jeffries and Pistole said ICE will primarily monitor and control the crowds or maintain the PreCheck lanes, positions airline personnel will sometimes fill during peak travel periods such as spring break and holidays.

The former administrators worry that bad actors could take advantage of the long, chaotic lines or possible gaps in security.

“[ICE agents] can’t work at the checkpoint. That’s not their training or background or experience. And heaven forbid a potential terrorist sees this as an opportunity to try to get through a checkpoint because it’s less secure,” Pistole warned.

Will ICE be checking travelers’ immigration status?

Democrats have raised alarms about agents potentially harassing travelers, checking papers and citizenship, or detaining people without due process.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement that federal officials had “indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities.”

Trump, however, warned on Truth Social on Saturday that ICE agents would “do Security like no one has ever seen before, including the immediate arrest of all Illegal Immigrants who have come into our Country.”

Can ICE agents ask for proof of citizenship?

The airport is no different from any other public space, said Nicole Hallett, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic and a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago.

If an ICE agent suspects an airport patron of an immigration violation, they can briefly detain the individual, requesting identification and issuing an arrest if they believe the person has broken the law.

“If they are acting in their capacity as ICE agents at the airport, then they essentially have the same duties and responsibilities that they would have in any place, which is to say if you were on a public street, they could walk up to you and ask you questions,” Hallett said.

There are limits to their powers, however. Without a warrant, Hallett said, they cannot search a passenger’s personal belongings, such as a carry-on bag, or scour their phone or laptop for incriminating evidence. They can conduct those types of probes only if they are authorized to work on behalf of the agency that performs such security duties, such as TSA at domestic checkpoints and Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry.

“If they’re acting as a TSA agent, they have to follow TSA rules. If they’re acting as a CBP agent and doing Border Patrol work, then they have the authority that Border Patrol has,” Hallett said. “And if they are just merely standing in the airport as ICE officers, then they have the same legal authority that any ICE officer standing in a public location has.”

What should you do if an ICE agent tries to interrogate you?

If an ICE agent approaches, Hallett does not recommend running away, which could raise suspicions. If an officer starts to pepper you with questions, you can invoke the Fifth Amendment.

“You can calmly say, ‘I’m exercising my right to remain silent,’” she said. “They should allow you to do that, but whether they actually allow you to do that is another story.”

By law, you do not have to carry proof that you are a U.S. citizen or legal resident. However, if you fear that ICE may target you because of certain physical features, presenting a document verifying your status could quickly quash any inquisition.

The American Civil Liberties Union has said that noncitizens without legal status “should consider the risks of flying, including on domestic flights within the U.S.”

Can ICE approach you anywhere in the airport or just at security checkpoints?

There are no ICE-free zones. They can approach passengers anywhere, anytime – in the arrivals terminal, in the security lanes, in line for a Dunkin’ coffee, at the gate. Hallett recommends travelers stay alert during their entire time in the airport.

“Be aware of your surroundings and be prepared, and know what you’re going to do if you’re approached.”

Are ICE agents helping the TSA lines move any faster?

Lines remained long at some airports Monday, when more than 2.6 million people went through TSA checkpoints. As The Post reported late Monday, the deployment of the agents “appeared to have limited effect in reducing security lines, as passengers reported wait times as long as five hours in Houston and lengthy delays in other major cities.”

On Tuesday, a day when passenger numbers are generally lighter, results varied by airport. Lines at the Atlanta airport had eased by late morning, according to news reports. But Bush airport in Houston continued to warn that waits could last more than four hours.

Doesn’t TSA already have backup – the local police?

A consortium of law enforcement entities and federal agencies oversees security at airports. Depending on the facility, the police may be on staff, on loan from the local force or on call from the city’s police department.

Each unit has a distinct role, but they often work in concert. TSA has “a very narrow search authority,” Jeffries said. The agency’s primary role is to identify dangerous prohibited items such as guns, explosives and incendiary devices, he said. If the officers discover contraband, they will contact law enforcement.

“TSA doesn’t arrest anybody,” Jeffries said. “They find items that are not authorized into the transportation sector.”

How should passengers prepare for long TSA lines?

Travelers should start monitoring wait times, watching for airline updates and seeking out airport information long before their flight starts boarding. They should not rely on official TSA times, which are generally estimates and are not being updated during the partial shutdown anyway.

Some airports have stopped providing specific wait times due to extremely long lines. Atlanta, for example, does not give them but warns travelers on its website to allow at least four hours or more for security screenings.

Passengers should go for the fastest lane they can use at the airport. If open, TSA PreCheck is generally faster than a standard line if travelers have paid for the service. PreCheck Touchless ID, a separate lane, can be even faster – but passengers need to opt in before checking in for their flight. Clear, a subscription service, is offering a two-month free trial and day pass through its app.

If you expect to miss your flight, check options for later in the day to reschedule or contact the airline for help. Don’t want to brave the chaos? Some airlines are offering flexibility to change flights proactively without fees, including Delta in Atlanta and United in Houston.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Andrea Sachs, Hannah Sampson

The cockpit voice recorder of an Air Canada Express jet captured how the air traffic control tower at New York’s LaGuardia Airport failed to recognize that it had granted permission for both the plane and an emergency vehicle to use the same runway before their deadly collision late Sunday, federal officials said.

At a news conference Tuesday, National Transportation Safety Board officials shared a timeline of events heard during the last three minutes of audio from the recorder, which investigators recovered at the crash site Monday by cutting a hole through the roof of the plane.

The LaGuardia air traffic controller granted permission for an emergency vehicle to cross the runway, but about two minutes earlier, officials said, another controller had cleared the flight to land on the same runway. The controller instructed the emergency vehicle to stop at least twice, according to officials’ summary, but it was too late.

The NTSB officials said breakdowns across both the air traffic control staff and aviation safety technology at LaGuardia may have contributed to the collision, which happened about 11:40 p.m. Sunday, killing two pilots and leaving dozens of passengers injured. The agency’s probe is ongoing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters, and investigators have yet to interview the air traffic controllers or the two firefighters who were in the emergency vehicle Sunday night.

Officials have not publicly identified the pilots who were killed in the crash. Most of the people taken to the hospital afterward have been released. Both firefighters were in stable condition, officials said Monday.

Though there were two air traffic controllers working the night shift during Sunday’s crash, one appeared to have dual responsibilities, which is typical during overnight shifts, officials said. And while LaGuardia, one of the busiest airports in the United States, has a surveillance system intended to help air traffic controllers track aircraft and vehicles and ultimately prevent collisions, that system did not send an alert to the tower Sunday, officials said, probably because the emergency vehicle was not equipped with a device that would have helped trigger one.

In the tower Sunday, officials said, were one local controller, managing active runways and LaGuardia’s airspace, and a “controller in charge” responsible for the safety of operations. One of them was also functioning as the “ground controller,” directing all movement on taxiways rather than active runways, officials said.

While the ground controller is sometimes its own position, it is standard procedure at LaGuardia to combine those responsibilities with another position during the night shift, Homendy said. She said it was unclear as of Tuesday afternoon which of the two controllers was also handling ground movements.

They were both working a shift that typically spans from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., when air traffic controllers have historically experienced fatigue, Homendy said.

“We have no indication that was a factor here, but it is a shift that we have been focused on in past investigations,” she said.

The cockpit voice recorder had more than 25 hours of good-quality audio, which will be fully transcribed Wednesday, Homendy said.

Its last few minutes capture overlapping instructions from the control tower – and calls for the vehicle to stop crossing – moments before the crash.

About two minutes and 22 seconds before the cockpit recording ends, the flight crew checked in with LaGuardia. Five seconds later, the tower cleared the plane to land on Runway 4, adding that it was second in line for landing.

Shortly after, the flight crew began adjusting the plane’s flaps to prepare for landing. One minute and 12 seconds before the recording ends, the crew told the tower they had completed their landing checklist.

At one minute and three seconds, the emergency vehicle, which was responding to an issue with a separate aircraft, made a radio transmission – but it was “stepped on,” meaning someone else was communicating on the same frequency and the transmission was disrupted, according to the NTSB. Doug Brazy, an NTSB aviation accident investigator who is leading the LaGuardia probe, said investigators have not yet identified the source of the overlapping transmission.

Twenty seconds before the recording ends, the tower granted permission for the emergency vehicle to cross Runway 4. By then, the plane was only about 100 feet from the ground.

Eight seconds later, the tower told a different aircraft, a Frontier Airlines flight, to hold its position. At the same time, the Air Canada Express flight was about 30 feet above ground.

Three seconds after that, the controller told the vehicle to stop. One second later, the recording captured what was probably the sound of the plane’s gear touching down on the runway, the NTSB said.

Four seconds before the recording ended, the controller told the vehicle to stop again. By that time, it was too late.

There were other vehicles behind the firefighting truck that did not begin to cross the runway, Homendy said, but she did not share how many there were.

The vehicle that collided with the plane did not have a transponder, she said, meaning LaGuardia’s surveillance system did not have information on its exact location and movement the way it would have for the aircraft.

Air traffic control audio posted to LiveATC.com, a website that broadcasts tower communications in real-time, captured some of the crash’s aftermath.

Just over 15 minutes after the crash, a controller told a pilot that he tried to prevent the collision, according to the recording.

“I tried to reach out to ’em … and we were dealing with an emergency earlier, and I messed up,” the controller said.

“No, man, you did the best you could,” the pilot responded.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Praveena Somasundaram 

New York City apartment residents are being put on notice of a potential strike by building staff as soon as next month as the union representing the workers and an advisory board to building owners negotiate a new labor contract.

Property owners are alerting occupants of 3,500 co-ops, condos and apartment buildings across the five boroughs that services will decrease if a work suspension begins on April 21. That’s the day after the four-year-old contract expires for nearly 34,000 doormen, porters and maintenance workers.

If there’s a strike, residents will need to wear badges to enter buildings, non-emergency renovation work will stop and moving in or out of the buildings will halt, according to notices sent this month to residents at three separate buildings.

The Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, or RAB, says the city’s housing industry faces the prospect of diminished income with a potential freeze on rent increases looming for about 1 million rent-stabilized apartments.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, seeking to deliver on his campaign promise to freeze rents, last month announced six new appointments to the nine-member panel that governs rent-stabilized units.

– – –

Contract positions

The RAB is asking the workers to contribute to their health-care premiums and to form a “Tier II” classification for future employees hired under the new contract, according to a statement released Tuesday.

The union – 32BJ SEIU – called RAB’s latest offer “insulting,” according to a statement from the labor organization. The union says workers in the proposed new tier would earn less than their counterparts and that RAB wants to use more temporary staff, according to the statement.

“Our members are fighting to live with dignity in the city they serve every day,” Manny Pastreich, 32BJ SEIU’s president, said in the statement. “Through snowstorms, global pandemics, and even in the face of violence, our members are there. We won’t let the real estate industry cut costs on the backs of these essential workers.”

Representatives from RAB and 32BJ SEIU declined to provide the specific wage increases they’re seeking while negotiations continue. The union wants to maintain workers’ health insurance that’s fully covered by employers, wage increases that keep up with inflation, stronger pension benefits and better working conditions and paid leave.

The talks come as working families contend with high grocery costs, rising gasoline prices and other affordability issues. A strike would mean thousands of buildings throughout the city would have to scale back day-to-day operations that keep apartments in good repair, ensure packages get delivered to residential units, oversee moves into and out of buildings and allow construction workers to renovate apartments.

The parties are set to meet again on March 30 to continue negotiating. The two sides avoided a strike in 2022 by reaching a deal that boosted annual wages by an average of 3% over four years, along with a one-time bonus of $3,000.

The last work stoppage by door workers was in 1991 and members have yet to vote on such a move, according to the union. The average doorperson or porter earns about $62,000 a year, according to RAB.

“To keep the industry strong going forward, we must continue to work together to negotiate a fair contract that ensures its long-term sustainability,” Howard Rothschild, RAB’s president, said in a statement Tuesday.

(c) 2026, Bloomberg · Michelle Kaske 

President Donald Trump showed a classified map he retained from his first term in office to passengers on a 2022 private plane flight and retained another record so sensitive that only six high-ranking government officials had access to it, according to a prosecution memo released to Congress this week.

The Justice Department shared those findings, detailed in a January 2023 briefing document written by then-special counsel Jack Smith’s team, with lawmakers as they conduct a review of Smith’s now-abandoned efforts to prosecute Trump.

The memo, which was obtained by The Washington Post, was penned as investigators moved toward indicting Trump on charges of illegally retaining sensitive government material after he left the White House. It offers a snapshot of an early moment in Smith’s investigation and adds new shading to the public understanding of Smith’s probes, even as a final report on his findings remains under court seal.

The memo, for instance, reveals that Smith’s team gathered at least some evidence to suggest that Trump had retained classified material pertinent to his personal business interests and that prosecutors were investigating whether his decision to hold on to those records was motivated by financial gain.

The eventual indictment – filed against Trump five months after the memo was written – did not mention Trump’s business interests as a possible motive. That could suggest prosecutors ultimately concluded they did not have sufficient evidence to prove that theory at trial. It is also not uncommon for prosecutors to leave some allegations out of their initial charging documents, even if they intend to prove them later at trial.

The memo recounts an alleged incident in which Trump, on a June 2022 flight to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, allegedly shared a classified map with passengers. Among them, according to the memo, was Susie Wiles, then the CEO of Trump’s super PAC, who has since become Trump’s White House chief of staff. The memo did not detail what the map showed.

Smith’s 2023 indictment of Trump included a similar claim that Trump in 2021 had shown others a classified map tied to a military operation and boasted that he had access to a “plan of attack” that the Pentagon had prepared for him.

Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and maintained that he was entitled to keep classified records when he left the White House in 2021. The case Smith filed against him was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida, who cited issues with Smith’s appointment as special counsel, before it could go to trial.

Smith was appealing that decision when Trump was elected to a second term in 2024, prompting him to abandon his efforts in line with Justice Department policies preventing the prosecution of a sitting president.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson on Wednesday panned the conclusions detailed in the newly released memo from Smith’s team.

“President Trump did nothing wrong, which is why he easily defeated the Biden DOJ’s unprecedented lawfare campaign against him and then won nearly 80 million votes in a landslide election victory,” she said in a statement.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, cited the memo in a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi in which he demanded more information on its allegations, including a full manifest of the passengers aboard Trump’s plane for that 2022 flight.

“It is now clear that DOJ is in possession of evidence that President Trump has already endangered national security to further the interests of Trump family businesses,” Raskin wrote. “It is time for you to stop the cover-up and allow the American people to know what secrets he betrayed and how he may have cashed in on them.”

Smith has been largely barred from publicly discussing the efforts of his investigative team in the classified-documents investigation. Last year, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon – the same judge who dismissed the case – issued an order preventing the release of Smith’s final report on the probe, saying doing so would unfairly damage the rights of people, including Trump, who had not been convicted at trial.

She made that order permanent at the request of Trump and his former co-defendants last month and additionally barred the public release of “any information or conclusions” from Smith’s findings in the classified-documents case.

Raskin suggested Wednesday that the Justice Department may have inadvertently included Smith’s memo in a larger batch of documents from Smith’s investigations of Trump that it has released in coordination with congressional Republicans over the past year.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, House and Senate Republicans have released scores of what Raskin described Wednesday as “cherry-picked” records from Smith’s probes in an effort to discredit his work as politically motivated.

Released documents have included records revealing that Smith’s team – as part of its separate investigation of Trump’s efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election – sought phone records from Republican senators and Trump allies including Wiles and Kash Patel, now FBI director, during the years Trump was out of office.

Republicans have sought to paint that move as evidence Smith was pursuing a partisan vendetta. But the former special counsel has defended the decision as a routine investigative step as he was building a conspiracy case against Trump and investigating whom he was communicating with in the weeks after his election loss.

Raskin, in his letter to Bondi on Wednesday, suggested the coordinated dissemination of documents from Smith’s probes by the Justice Department and congressional Republicans in recent months has violated the spirit – and possibly the letter – of Cannon’s orders.

“Apparently blinded by the frenzied search to find any scrap of evidence that could be twisted and distorted to level an attack against Special Counsel Smith (despite constantly coming up empty-handed), you have, quite amazingly, missed the fact that some of the documents you provided include damning evidence about your boss’s conduct and may well violate the gag order your DOJ and Donald Trump demanded from Judge Aileen Cannon,” he wrote.

A Justice Department spokesperson rejected that assertion in a statement dismissing Raskin’s letter as little more than “a cheap political stunt.”

“We understand that [Raskin], much like Jack Smith, is blinded by hatred of President Trump,” it read. “However, he needs to get his facts straight – this Department of Justice is the most transparent in history in part because of our efforts to expose the weaponization of the Biden administration in full compliance with the law and the court.”

For his own part, Smith in testimony before Congress earlier this year defended his investigations and stood by his conclusion that Trump “willfully broke the very laws that he took an oath to uphold.”

“If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat,” Smith told members of the House Judiciary Committee in January. “No one should be above the law in our country, and the law required that he be held to account. So that is what I did.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Jeremy Roebuck, Maegan Vazquez 

President Donald Trump has installed a statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, his latest effort to remake the presidential campus and celebrate the famed and controversial explorer.

The statue is outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where it is visible from Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 17th Street NW. The White House had considered putting the statue on the South Lawn, The Washington Post reported in February.

The piece is a reconstruction of a statue that President Ronald Reagan unveiled in Baltimore in 1984. After it was dumped into the city’s harbor by protesters in 2020 as a racial reckoning swept the country, a group of Italian American businessmen and politicians, working with local sculptors, obtained the pieces and rebuilt the statue with financial support from local charities and federal grant funding.

“Destroyed July 4, 2020,” reads a panel affixed to the base of the sculpture. “Resurrected 2022.”

The panel also says that the sculpture was gifted to the White House last year and that Trump rededicated it in October.

“In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero. And he will continue to be honored as such by President Trump,” Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said in a statement. The New York Times first reported Sunday that the statue had been installed.

The Columbus statue is just one of numerous sculptures that Trump has taken steps to place on the White House grounds and on other federal land. Several statues of revolutionary-era political leaders now stand in the White House’s Rose Garden, and the president is planning a large sculpture garden to commemorate 250 famous Americans, a project that he has dubbed the Garden of Heroes – and that could be erected in Washington’s West Potomac Park.

Trump is also planning to install a towering bronze statue of Caesar Rodney – a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an enslaver – on a plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. The Rodney statue has been gathering dust in storage after being removed from public view in Delaware during the 2020 racial justice protests.

Trump condemned efforts in 2020 to tear down statues of Columbus and other historical figures, issuing an executive order that called those actions an “assault on our collective national memory” and creating a task force to rebuild monuments.

Columbus was long celebrated for his voyage in 1492 to the Americas, which opened up trade routes with Europe and built his reputation as a heroic discoverer. The Italian explorer’s journey also set the stage for colonization and enslavement, and academics and activists in recent years have called for an end to honoring him, noting the brutal treatment of Native people that followed his arrival on the continent.

Some U.S. states now recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day; Joe Biden in 2021 became the first president to mark the holiday.

Trump has framed his moves to honor Columbus as a political act. He campaigned in 2024 on promises to celebrate Columbus Day, and in October he signed a presidential proclamation to recognize Columbus as “the original American hero” and commemorate the annual holiday.

“You Italians are going to love me,” Trump said at a political rally last year, adding that Italian Americans had been “badly treated” by past efforts to remove Columbus Day and that he would restore the holiday.

Nino Mangione, a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, was involved in efforts to recover the Columbus statue from the Baltimore harbor. He praised Trump’s plan to install it at the White House in an email to The Washington Post last month.

“This world is full of haters and screamers who want to silence our voices, our values, and our votes,” Mangione wrote. “President Trump is standing up to them because it is the right thing to do and I applaud his courage in doing so.”

Others have panned Trump’s plan, saying that installing a statue of the explorer would generate controversy. Jeff Miron, the vice president for research at the Cato Institute, a prominent libertarian think tank, said that museums, documentarians and other outside groups are better positioned than the White House is to “present a complete perspective on Columbus.”

“President Trump’s decision to erect a Christopher Columbus statue at the White House exemplifies why government shouldn’t be in the statue business at all,” Miron said in a statement last month.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Dan Diamond, Olivia George