The Trump administration is spending $5 million to apply a thick layer of gold to four bronze horse statues surrounding the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of America’s 250th anniversary on July Fourth.

The horse statues are part of a broader beautification effort by the Interior Department, which has spent at least $95 million in taxpayer funds between December and April to spruce up the nation’s capital, according to a Notus report.

The National Park Service awarded the contract to a Maryland gilding studio without a full competitive bidding process because of the pressure to complete the project before the July Fourth deadline.

A former official with the General Services Administration, the government’s landlord and acquisitions agency, said increasing spending for the anniversary would be reasonable, but the absence of normal oversight is not.

Many of the awarded contracts lacked full and open competition, and several projects cost more than originally planned.

A New York gold-leaf supplier told Notus that other qualified companies were never contacted for the horse statue project either. The horses are being covered in 23.75-karat gold leaf.