President Donald Trump is clashing with critics once again, this time over his plans to construct an ornate ballroom in the White House complex.
Trump announced one of his most ambitious construction projects of his second term in late July — a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, originally slated to cost roughly $200 million. The ballroom reached new heights of controversy this week when the president revealed a change in earlier plans, mandating that the whole East Wing be destroyed.
Here is everything to know about the most substantial renovation of the White House in nearly 75 years.
Why is Trump building a ballroom?
The White House executive mansion, as rebuilt after its burning in 1814, has gone largely unchanged in its external structure since the U.S. was a fledgling Republic. As the U.S. has transitioned into the world’s sole superpower, its leaders have long complained that the building is too small to host large events and foreign leaders properly. Large delegations often have to be relegated to the White House lawn.
Trump decided to be the one to undertake the project, announcing the plans in July and announcing its groundbreaking on Monday.
TRUMP SAYS ENTIRE EAST WING TO BE DEMOLISHED FOR BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION
“For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Trump outlined his frustration with the lack of space.
“This was the ballroom, and this room holds 88 people,” he said. “The new one will hold 999 people. I say 999 because I didn’t want to crack 1,000. I didn’t want people to get concerned because that’s getting big. But we’re going to have — we’ll have the most beautiful ballroom in the country.”
The president has pitched himself as the natural choice to renovate the White House due to his experience in real estate and interior design. He has already demolished the Rose Garden and installed two new flag poles, but he believes his ballroom will be the finishing touch.
“There’s never been a president that was good at ballrooms,” Trump said in August. “I’m really good.”
The White House didn’t apply for any permits for the demolition of the East Wing. At an Oct. 15 dinner, Trump thanked two unidentified “geniuses,” who he quoted as saying, “Sir, this is the White House. You’re the president of the United States. You can do anything you want,” USA Today reported.
Ultimate authority on the subject of White House renovations is unclear. The National Trust for Historic Places argued that any construction is legally required to go through the public review process by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. But a White House official told the outlet that the National Capital Planning Commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over demolition, only construction. They added that they had not yet but would “soon” seek approval from the commission.
The White House website said Trump met with members of the White House Staff, the National Park Service, the White House Military Office, and the United States Secret Service “to discuss design features and planning.”
Who is funding the construction, and how much will it cost?
Trump originally said that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom would cost $200 million, entirely funded by himself and other donors.
Estimates of the total cost have since varied significantly. On Wednesday, Trump put the price tag at $300 million, while the White House website said it would cost “approximately $250 million.” The website says it will be entirely funded by Trump and “other patriot donors.”
Trump selected McCrery Architects, a firm known for designing churches and its love of classical architecture, as the lead architect.
“Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman. I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance,” CEO Jim McCrery said in a statement.
Clark Construction was chosen to lead construction, while the engineering team will be led by AECOM. The White House website said it expects the project to be completed “long before the end of President Trump’s term.”
Aside from Trump, the “many generous patriots” cited by Trump in helping fund the construction include some of the biggest companies in the U.S., such as Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, Comcast, and Meta. Other individual donors include Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his family, the Adelson family, and the Winklevoss twins, CNN reported.
How does this compare to other White House renovations?
The White House experienced a wave of modernization throughout the 19th century, such as the introduction of gas lighting, electricity, indoor plumbing, and heating. President Chester Arthur carried out one of its most extensive redesigns, auctioning off most furniture and installing a giant Louis Comfort Tiffany screen, Architectural Digest reported.
The 20th century saw a series of major renovations and constructions, beginning with those undertaken by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902. Greenhouses installed by President Thomas Jefferson were torn down, and in their place, the famous West Wing was constructed, today’s executive office wing. Diplomatic and executive offices were moved from the residence itself to a building attached by a colonnade-flanked walkway.
Roosevelt’s successor, President William Howard Taft, remodeled and expanded the West Wing in 1909, a reconstruction which included the creation of the first Oval Office.
Buoyed by worries that the White House roof could collapse due to its overencumbered roof becoming a storage for records and old machinery, President Calvin Coolidge ordered reconstruction in 1927 to create a new roof, attic, and even an entire third floor. The main building’s new addition included a solarium with floor-to-ceiling windows.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt carried out two major renovations, one in 1934 and one in 1942. In the first, he added a second floor, a swimming pool, and a larger basement to the West Wing. The latter renovation constructed the modern East Wing. The new structure was originally intended to cover an underground bunker meant to protect the president from enemy attacks during World War II.
The most extensive redesign to the main White House building took place in 1948 under President Harry Truman. Truman gutted the entire 150-year-old building, keeping only its exterior walls. The residence was given a new, 22-foot-deep foundation, steel frame walls, and concrete floors. It gained two sub-basements and expanded from 48 rooms to 54.
Truman’s renovations are the last major reconstruction in the same league as Trump’s ballroom. The only changes since have been largely superficial, including the construction of an indoor bowling alley by President Richard Nixon and adapting a tennis court into a basketball court by President Barack Obama.
How are people reacting?
The first reactions to the ballroom when its groundbreaking began were shock, as images of the East Wing being torn down flooded social media. Trump’s critics, mainly Democrats, erupted with rage over social media, portraying the move as the desecration of U.S. history.
Congressional Democrats were quick to take action. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ), and Jared Huffman (D-CA) wrote a letter to Trump demanding answers regarding the East Wing destruction and ballroom plans.
“These developments raise serious concerns about transparency, funding priorities, the physical integrity of the White House, and the ethical integrity of the Administration it houses,” they wrote, adding that the renovation was “one of the most substantial alterations to the White House in modern
history.”
The trio bemoaned that the plans were made “in complete secrecy and undertaken without public disclosure or proper consultation,” noting that it took place while the National Capital Planning Commission was closed due to the government shutdown.
“The American people deserve full transparency regarding the substantial demolition, preparation,
and construction at the White House during a government shutdown, particularly when it concerns
alterations to one of our nation’s most historically significant buildings,” they wrote.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) claimed a ballroom is a symbol of “authoritarian power.”
“Here we have evidence of the president tearing down a symbol of our Republic and building a symbol that is really a symbol about authoritarian power, about a government that serves the rich,” he said during a marathon 22-hour speech in Congress.
EAST WING DEMOLITION CONTINUES LONG LINE OF WHITE HOUSE RENOVATIONS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was less dramatic, dismissing it as a “vanity project.”
Initial reactions from the public were largely negative. A YouGov poll surveying 2,038 U.S. adults on Oct. 21, the day after the groundbreaking, found only 33% approved of the ballroom’s construction, while only 24% approved of the East Wing’s demolition. Results were highly polarized along partisan lines, but not even a majority of Republicans approved of the East Wing demolition.