President Trump Thursday unveiled plans for a glitzy new White Home ballroom with a hefty $200 million price ticket at the same time as Republicans implement draconian cuts to well being and different social packages.
Development is about to start in September on the brand new 90,000-square-foot area that will seat as much as 650 folks adjoining to the White Home’s East Wing.
The mission is scheduled to be accomplished lengthy earlier than the tip of Trump’s time period in 2029, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated.
The White Home says Trump and different unnamed “patriot donors” will bankroll the mission, though the Secret Service will spend an undisclosed quantity on wanted safety upgrades.
The splashy mission might elevate eyebrows at a time when Trump and his Republican allies slashed tons of of billions of {dollars} in spending on Medicaid for poor and disabled People, together with deep cuts in meals help in his Large Stunning Invoice, which additionally cuts taxes for the rich.
The White Home. (Al Drago/Getty Photographs)
The East Wing may also be “modernized” and a few staffers, together with aides to First Girl Melania Trump, shall be quickly relocated throughout building. Trump has met in latest weeks with the Nationwide Park Service, Secret Service and different companies to debate the mission.
He has lengthy complained that the White Home lacks an acceptable area to host giant gatherings. The East Room of the White Home can solely accomodate 200 folks.
“The president and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserving the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future Administrations and generations of Americans to come,” White Home chief of employees Susie Wiles stated in an announcement.
Trump, who famously brings an actual property mogul’s eye to many points, has already put his bodily stamp on the White Home.
He has jazzed up the Oval Workplace with extra gold trim, ordered the grass within the Rose Backyard changed with stone pavers and put in new flagpoles out entrance.
Trump efficiently pushed for the federal government to acquire a luxurious jumbo jet from Qatar that he needs renovated for his use as Air Drive One whereas a brand new presidential jet is being constructed by Boeing.
The president portrayed the aircraft deal as a freebie however Sen. Dick Durbin stated this week taxpayers might pay greater than $1 billion to retrofit the aircraft and full safety upgrades.
Initially Printed: July 31, 2025 at 2:19 PM EDT
