Who’s Paying for the White House Ballroom?

Q: Has President Trump asked for a cardinal dollars for the ballroom?

A: Since the White House announced plans successful July for a ballroom, the president has promised to money its operation without utilizing nationalist money. But successful May legislature Republicans projected $1 cardinal successful national backing for “security adjustments and upgrades” including astatine the White House and the ballroom site.

FULL ANSWER

President Donald Trump has claimed that the caller White House ballroom would beryllium privately funded, using “not 1 dime of authorities money.” But Republicans successful Congress person projected $1 cardinal successful nationalist funds for “security” features, prompting disapproval from Democrats that this means taxpayers are paying for the ballroom.

The White House has said the legislature connection is strictly for information elements, not the ballroom itself.

When Trump archetypal began touting the task soon aft helium took bureau successful 2025, helium said he would ft the measure himself. When it was officially announced connected July 31 astatine an estimated outgo of $200 million, the president answered a question from a newsman astir the root of the funding, saying, “It’s a backstage thing, yeah, I’ll bash it, and we’ll astir apt person immoderate donors oregon whatever.”

The property merchandise for the task said, “President Trump, and different patriot donors, person generously committed to donating the funds indispensable to physique this astir $200 cardinal dollar structure. The United States Secret Service volition supply the indispensable information enhancements and modifications.”

As precocious arsenic precocious March, erstwhile the estimated outgo had doubled to $400 million, the president maintained that it would beryllium donor-funded, saying, “This is taxpayer-free. We person nary payer putting up 10 cents.”

But pursuing the April 25 shooting during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, immoderate legislature Republicans cited information concerns and projected nationalist backing for the project, arguing that the White House needs to person a unafraid installation for hosting ample events.

“If this is not a wake-up call, what would be?” Sen. Lindsey Graham said connected April 27, referring to the shooting, portion announcing legislation that would authorize $400 cardinal to physique the ballroom and money a subject installation beneath it. (More connected that later.)

A week later, Sen. Chuck Grassley, president of the Judiciary Committee, announced a proposed $1 cardinal for the Secret Service to supply “security adjustments and upgrades, including wrong the perimeter obstruction of the White House Compound to enactment enhancements … relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground information features.” The ballroom is replacing the East Wing.

The backing was portion of a $72 billion program to money the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement done 2029 without Democratic support. It followed a record-breaking partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that hinged connected Democrats’ demands for changes to migration enforcement policies aft agents killed 2 U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — successful Minneapolis earlier this year.

Democrats panned the proposal, with Rep. Jared Huffman of California saying, “They’re sending Trump $1 cardinal to physique a gilded country for their balls,” and Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada saying, “The system successful NV is tanking, state prices are going done the extortion … and Republicans are throwing down $1 Billion for Trump’s ballroom.” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland wrote connected X connected May 5, “Trump said, ‘Not 1 penny is being utilized from the national government’ to money his ballroom boondoggle. True, successful the consciousness that $1 cardinal is simply a batch much than 1 penny!”

In a gathering connected May 12, the Secret Service main reportedly told Republican lawmakers that lone $220 cardinal of the $1 cardinal connection would beryllium utilized to fortify the ballroom with bulletproof glass, drone detection equipment, chemic filtration systems and different information elements. The remainder would beryllium utilized for grooming and information measures elsewhere, arsenic a DHS spokesperson besides told america successful a statement.

Both the White House and Grassley’s bureau person responded to the disapproval by pointing to connection specifying that the $1 cardinal allocation would screen lone “security”-related features. “None of the funds made disposable nether this conception whitethorn beryllium utilized for non-security elements of the East Wing Modernization Project,” the authorities reads. We asked Grassley’s bureau for further details connected what mightiness suffice arsenic a information feature, but we didn’t get an reply to that question.

Instead, we were provided a connection attributable to a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson that said, “The reconciliation substance speaks for itself, providing funds for captious information enhancements to guarantee Secret Service tin fulfill their duties of securing the White House, protecting the President, members of the medication and White House visitors, and supporting broader nationalist information for designated events similar America 250 and the World Cup.”

Likewise, a White House spokesperson said, “The Ballroom volition inactive beryllium paid for with the backstage funds raised. The reconciliation bundle introduced was funds for DHS and USSS to amended unafraid the WH complex.”

Here’s what we cognize truthful acold astir the project.

The Ballroom

The Trump medication began demolition of the East Wing of the White House successful October to marque mode for what it has described arsenic a 90,000 square-foot ballroom that tin spot 650 people, though the president has said that it volition person a capableness of 999.

The determination drew condemnation from immoderate architectural and historical organizations, prompting a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In March, the national justice handling that lawsuit ordered that operation of the ballroom should halt until plans person authorization from Congress, though helium allowed for the continuation of operation “necessary to guarantee the information and information of the White House.” The medication has appealed.

Another lawsuit brought against the medication revealed successful April the funding agreement for the project. The statement cited a broad design plan for the White House analyzable that the National Park Service published successful 2000 aft astir a decennary of research, readying and nationalist comment.

That plan program “identified the request for expanded lawsuit abstraction to code increasing visitant request and supply a venue suitable for important events,” the backing statement said.

That’s true, but obscurity successful the plan does it suggest a ballroom to regenerate the East Wing of the White House. Rather, it emphasized the value of maintaining the existing operation of the White House analyzable and recommended expanding abstraction underground, including a caller gathering and league abstraction adjacent the West Wing that could accommodate up to 200 people. It besides recommended gathering a peculiar events plaza successful the ellipse connected the southbound broadside of the White House.

As for the donors who person contributed to the money to physique the ballroom, a newsman asked connected May 7 for a database and Trump responded, “I person nary occupation with it. You’re not expected to due to the fact that it’s done nether a mode wherever you don’t person to bash that, but I person nary problem. They’re unbelievable people. These are large patriots.”

In October, the White House released a list that included some companies — specified arsenic Amazon and Meta — and individuals — specified arsenic the Winklevoss twins, who had accused Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their thought to physique Facebook and present tally a cryptocurrency exchange, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO of alternate concern steadfast Blackstone. The database didn’t see immoderate dollar amounts for donations to the ballroom. Trump, himself, was not listed among the donors.

The Bunker

In March, Trump began speaking much astir the military’s engagement successful the project.

“The subject wanted it much than anybody,” Trump said during a Cabinet gathering connected March 26.

Three days later, helium said, “There’s not 1 dime of authorities wealth going into the ballroom,” but helium instantly added that “the military’s gathering a monolithic analyzable nether the ballroom, and that’s nether operation and we’re doing precise well.” He described the ballroom arsenic a “shed” implicit the subterranean subject installation. “Everything’s drone-proof and bulletproof.”

There isn’t overmuch publically disposable accusation astir plans for the caller installation oregon the erstwhile bunker nether the East Wing, which was built during World War II and has been updated implicit the years. “Known arsenic the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), it tin go a bid halfway for the president arsenic needed,” the White House Historical Association wrote successful a 2024 societal media post. “For example, aft the September 11, 2001, violent attacks, President George W. Bush and his squad spent clip successful the PEOC.”

Trump was besides taken to the bunker during his archetypal term, amid protests pursuing the decease of George Floyd successful 2020. He described the sojourn arsenic an “inspection.”

The outgo of operation for the caller bunker and different information elements — which Trump has said would see “bomb shelters” and “very large aesculapian facilities” — is besides unclear.

But Trump said connected May 7 that the $400 cardinal he’s promised to cod successful donations volition wage for “the ballroom conception of the ballroom,” portion the $1 cardinal projected successful the reconciliation measure is “for projects having to bash with information … successful a definite conception of the White House grounds. That’s not each for the ballroom.”

We asked some the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, if they were paying for immoderate of the construction. The Defense Department didn’t respond.

A DHS spokesperson provided this statement: “The $1 cardinal successful backing included successful the reconciliation measure volition assistance the United States Secret Service successful delivering captious information upgrades astatine the White House to minimize threats, including, but not constricted to, the information components of the East Wing Modernization Project, which volition spend needed extortion for the President, his family, and visitors, on with further information functions. This hardening of the White House analyzable is agelong overdue, particularly successful today’s heightened menace environment. A bulk of the wealth provided by the measure volition money different halfway captious missions for the USSS specified arsenic training, wealth for the Special Operations Division, and accrued information measures to guarantee information astatine aggregate upcoming events of nationalist significance.”

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