Jared Huffman

Construction on the White House ballroom.

House Democrats are demanding that the US Interior Department preserve records relating to President Donald Trump's construction projects in Washington after whistleblowers raised concerns that key documents may already have been destroyed ahead of a change in congressional control, sources have told CNN.

The warnings come as the Trump administration moves to accelerate work on several projects that the president sees as part of his legacy, seeking to make as much progress as possible before Democrats take control of the House in January.

On Tuesday, Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, is expected to send letters to the Interior Department, other federal agencies and private companies, asking them to "preserve all records and data responsive to oversight" by the committee.

Several credible whistleblowers have approached Huffman's committee in recent weeks, warning that the Interior Department was getting rid of records in anticipation of investigations by Democrats, congressional sources told CNN.

The department rejected the allegations, describing the whistleblower claims as "100% false". "The Department follows all federal records management obligations as directed by the Department's ethics officials," a spokesperson said.

The letters are also being sent to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, both of which fall under the Interior Department.

Other recipients include the Agriculture Department and companies such as Lockheed Martin and John Deere, which are known to have donated to Trump's projects. CNN said the whistleblowers had not alleged that these organisations had destroyed documents.

All recipients will be required to certify that they are complying with the requests. This includes preserving existing records, identifying and recovering deleted information, and suspending any practices that could result in the destruction or deletion of documents.

The Triumphal Arch is one of Donald Trump's flagship projects.

The House Natural Resources Committee oversees federal lands and national parks, including areas where Trump wants to build several projects, such as an East Potomac golf course and a triumphal arch.

The committee is expected to become a major focus of Democratic investigations when Huffman takes over as chairman in the new Congress.

"Everything is coming; it's all coming," Huffman told CNN, saying the committee was preparing to use the powers available to it under Democratic control. "It's just going to be an entirely new day," he said.

Huffman suggested that the scale of the Democrats' victory in the midterm elections would give the party a stronger mandate to investigate the administration.

Committee aides expect to hold a high-profile hearing on one or more of Trump's projects early in the new Congress. The proposed golf course and triumphal arch are among the main areas of interest.

The committee is also preparing to issue subpoenas if it faces resistance from the administration.

Huffman said its investigations could potentially halt some of the construction plans. "Especially because we have standing to go to court if we have to," he told CNN. "We'll have tools to be able to stop a lot of it."

The Natural Resources Committee has also been coordinating with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, which are preparing investigations into other aspects of the Trump administration.

Trump Projects Face Accelerated Timelines

Meanwhile, people familiar with the approval process for Trump's projects told CNN that the administration was showing a renewed urgency to advance them before the end of the year.

Several plans are expected to move forward over the next 60 days. They include the proposed triumphal arch, new fencing around Lafayette Square near the White House, the East Potomac Golf Links and the Tidal Basin Development Concept plan, which includes Trump's proposed Garden of American Heroes.

Some projects are expected to go before federal agencies for approval, while others will advance through the historical preservation review process.

"We're going to start seeing all of these things happening simultaneously," Charles Birnbaum of the Cultural Landscape Foundation told CNN. "It is going to be like a storm where it plays out until the new Congress is seated," he added.

The push has angered members of the preservationist community, many of whom have been campaigning against the projects.

The day after the midterm elections, Trump appeared at the site of the planned White House ballroom, where he signed the final steel beam before it was lifted into place.

Rounak is a journalist with over 7 years of experience covering geopolitical and international affairs. He has a keen interest in research and explain... View More