The Gilding of Washington’s Horse Statues
In spring 2026, a claim spread across social media platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and Threads. It suggested that the administration of US President Donald Trump would allocate $5 million in public funds to gilding horse statues located in Washington. Fact-checking sites reviewed the allegation and rated it as mostly true, though some details remained unclear.
The information originated from a report published on May 28 by an online outlet. The rumor circulated alongside criticism of the president over his cuts to food aid and other social services.
According to government records, the National Park Service (NPS) awarded a $4,995,263 contract on April 21, 2026, to the company The Gilder’s Studio. The aim was to ensure the full conservation and regilding of four equestrian bronze sculptures known as the Arts of War and Arts of Peace. The work had to be completed before July 4, 2026, the day of the 250th anniversary of the United States. As early as mid-April, NOTUS placed this order with a gilding workshop based in Maryland.
The Use of 23.75-Carat Gold
The details of the operations appear in a notice published on SAM.gov, the federal contract management site. According to that document, the project includes cleaning and stabilizing the historic bronze, repairing casting defects and corrosion, applying an anti-corrosion primer, then laying 30 grams of 23.75-carat gold leaf, with sealing and burnishing.
By comparison, the purest gold sold commercially reaches 24 carats. Cleaning the granite bases and installing scaffolding are also part of the contract.
What Exact Share for the Gold?
Snopes notes that the documents do not detail the proportion of the contract devoted to the gold and its application, compared with the repair and conservation work. Given the metal’s high price, the site considers it likely that a significant share of the funds is allocated to it, which explains the caveat in its rating.
The funding comes from the Interior Department’s “Working Capital Fund,” which oversees the NPS. Rather than answer specific questions about the contract, the Interior Department sent Snopes a written statement citing the president’s desire to make Washington “safe and beautiful.” The text states that the Arts of War statues are being regilded ahead of the 250th anniversary and that this is the first such intervention in fifty years.
According to the NPS, the Arts of Peace statues weigh a total of 80,000 pounds and stand nearly six meters tall.
Deal Closed Without Thorough Research
Still according to the documents cited by Snopes, the contract was awarded to The Gilder’s Studio without extensive competition. The agency acknowledges that it did not conduct an in-depth market study to verify that the $5 million price was fair, citing the tight schedule.
A special notice published on SAM.gov, open to candidates only from April 1 to 6, already announced the intention to select this workshop. The Interior Department considers that no comparable project, in scale and complexity, exists in the Washington area, where The Gilder’s Studio carried out the closest gilding job in 2022.
A Broader Renovation Program
NOTUS also reports that the Interior Department is devoting at least $95 million to new beautification projects for the capital, several of which are said to have exceeded their initial budget. Snopes says it has not independently verified this figure.
