| Welcome back to FOIA Files! What’s the deal with the giant portraits of Presidents Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln that were unfurled on the front of the US Department of Agriculture’s headquarters in May? How much money did it cost taxpayers? Was the USDA trying to appeal to Trump’s vanity? Those were the questions I hoped I would eventually be able to answer when I sent the agency a FOIA request. Last week, the USDA provided me with 10 pages of documents that contained some responses to my queries. If you’re not already getting FOIA Files in your inbox, sign up here. ‘Growing America’s Future’ | This year marked the 163rd anniversary of the USDA, an agency created by Lincoln in 1862, after the outbreak of the Civil War. It was a time when about half of Americans lived on farms, compared to fewer than 2% today. Lincoln himself spent his earliest childhood years on a farm in Kentucky, called Knob Creek, and once said: “Every blade of grass is a study; and to produce two, where there was but one, is both a profit and a pleasure.” On May 15, to commemorate the occasion of the USDA’s founding, the agency’s new secretary, Brooke Rollins, posted a photograph on X showing the front of the USDA building festooned with two 31-foot banners. One depicted Lincoln. The other showed Trump’s official, brooding presidential portrait. Both banners say, “Growing America Since 1862.” “Happy 163rd birthday to the USDA!” Rollins wrote in the post, which included a birthday cake and seedling emoji. “Lincoln founded the ‘People’s Department’— today, our National Mall banners celebrate his legacy & President Trump’s commitment to our farmers.” People have different opinions about Trump’s banner. Some raved about it, while others said it was reminiscent of authoritarian regimes. Either way, the banners weren't cheap. The documents I obtained include a copy of the purchase order, a credit card receipt and a handful of emails related to installation fees. The banners and the supplies used to hang them cost taxpayers a total of $16,400. (The Washingtonian filed its own FOIA request about the banners as well and wrote about the documents earlier this week.) The USDA’s banners were printed by Timsco Graphics, a Temple Hills, Maryland-based company. The purchase order says they were procured by the agency “in conjunction with the Secretary's priority.” That’s it. There aren't additional details in the emails beyond Rollins’ statement on X. The USDA actually purchased three banners. The third one featured Trump and Rollins together. It’s unclear if that one was displayed anywhere. The USDA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The email traffic between the USDA’s communications office and the facilities and operations division mostly centers around where to park the lift that the agency rented to hang the banners, the scheduling of the installation before the USDA’s May 15 anniversary and the need to move quickly to avoid bad weather. (It was installed on the evening of May 12.) One of the emails made me chuckle. It was an embedded photograph with hand-drawn instructions on where to place the banners. I should note that the documents the USDA sent me are from the agency’s contracting and procurement office. I’m expecting to obtain records from other divisions, which I’m hoping could provide additional insight into who came up with the idea and why they chose to include a banner of Trump. The display of the Trump and Lincoln banners is supposed to be temporary, covering major national holidays such as Memorial Day, Flag Day and July 4th. My Washington-based colleague, Lydia Beyoud, took a ride past the USDA building on Thursday and snapped a few photos. The banners are gone. Got a tip about the Epstein files or a document you think I should request via FOIA? Send me an email: jleopold15@bloomberg.net or jasonleopold@protonmail.com. Or send me a secure message on Signal: @JasonLeopold.666. | 
