{"id":863,"date":"2026-05-19T20:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=863"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:08:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:08:34","slug":"trump-shows-off-white-house-ballroom-construction-as-funding-stalls-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=863","title":{"rendered":"Trump shows off White House ballroom construction as funding stalls in Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President Donald Trump tours the construction site for the planned White House ballroom Tuesday. (Jacquelyn Martin\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered journalists the closest look yet at construction of his planned White House ballroom, even as lawmakers raised new concerns about funding the controversial project.<\/p>

Read more Teenage star Sooryavanshi smashes 93 against Lucknow to keep Rajasthan in line for IPL playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

The ballroom construction site has been fenced off for months and unavailable to the public; government workers <\/b>in nearby buildings have been instructed not to take pictures amid warnings that it would be a security risk. But the president brought selected media members inside the project\u2019s perimeter Tuesday morning, spending 45 minutes gesturing toward partially finished structures, showing off renderings and making proclamations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to potentially be the most beautiful building in all of Washington,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Photographers captured images of columns, pipes and a walkway \u2014 emblazoned with gold lettering reading \u201c45-47,\u201d denoting Trump\u2019s role as the nation\u2019s 45th and 47th president \u2014 wending through the project. The president also touted the ballroom\u2019s security measures, including what he said were planned defenses against drone attacks, as White House staff offered<\/a> journalists sandwiches and drinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the top of the ballroom is what they call a \u2018drone gallery,\u2019\u201d Trump said, adding later that the facility would be \u201cset up for unlimited numbers of drones.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House declined to comment further on the president\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

Trump has said that he hopes to complete the ballroom by September 2028, calling it a \u201cgift\u201d to future presidents and the nation that will be used to host VIPs at the White House. He has touted nearly $400 million in private donations for the project, initially insisting that it will not come at taxpayers\u2019 expense.<\/p>\n

But even as the ballroom begins to rise aboveground<\/a>, it faces a growing collection of potential barriers.<\/p>\n

A plan to pay hundreds of millions of additional dollars for the security-related aspects of the project is floundering in Congress. The Senate parliamentarian on Saturday rejected a Republican attempt<\/a> to include the money in a bill to fund immigration enforcement, and GOP lawmakers have been seeking to rewrite the provision.<\/p>\n

Even if the language passes muster with the parliamentarian, most Democrats and some Republicans have said they oppose the idea of using taxpayer money on Trump\u2019s project.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) \u2014 who lost his Senate primary<\/a> Saturday after Trump urged his supporters to unseat him \u2014 said Tuesday he was against the ballroom funding plan, Notus reported<\/a>. Cassidy\u2019s spokespeople did not immediately respond to questions about the senator\u2019s stance on ballroom funding.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a legal challenge is threatening to halt construction. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has twice rejected<\/a> the White House\u2019s arguments that the ballroom must be built as a national-security measure. He allowed the administration to move ahead with belowground security work but ordered a pause on the aboveground ballroom until Congress formally authorizes the project. A federal appeals panel stayed Leon\u2019s order and is set to hear arguments in the case on June 5.<\/p>

Read more Aaron Rai a surprise major winner only by name as PGA Championship lives up to major reputation<\/a><\/p>\n

Most Americans also remain opposed to the idea of building an expansive ballroom on the White House\u2019s grounds. Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose Trump\u2019s decision<\/a> to tear down the White House\u2019s East Wing to make way for his planned ballroom, funded by private donations, while 28 percent support the project, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll conducted last month.<\/p>\n

The unpopular project has become a mainstay of Democrats\u2019 speeches and campaign messaging ahead of November\u2019s midterm elections, with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) mocking \u201cballroom Republicans\u201d who have sought to secure funding for Trump\u2019s changes to the White House and around Washington.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A view of the ballroom construction site as Trump speaks to journalists Tuesday. (Kent Nishimura\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Trump has long believed that he is the best salesman for his ideas, dating back to his time as a real estate entrepreneur. So the president on Tuesday returned to a familiar role: pitching a construction project as a crowd of journalists looked on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I do best in life is build,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI\u2019m a great builder, and I build beautiful product.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Trump appeared to divulge new details about the national security aspects of the project, including the depth of the military and security facility set to be under the White House\u2019s new East Wing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis goes down six stories, because it\u2019s already been built,\u201d the president said, gesturing to the construction behind him. (Asked about Trump\u2019s remarks on the building\u2019s depth, the White House declined to comment.) He touted a planned \u201cmilitary hospital\u201d and \u201cresearch facilities\u201d set to be under the White House too.<\/p>\n

Trump also spoke about other efforts to secure the facility, such as installing air-conditioning equipment within the building\u2019s frame rather than placing it in the typical site on the roof.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any air-conditioning equipment up there because we don\u2019t want anything coming down through the pipes,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n

But much of the session involved Trump bragging about the project and comparing it to another landmark of Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always admired the facade of the Supreme Court. I said, \u2018I wonder if that can be duplicated or bettered, even not to say bettered but even bettered,\u2019\u201d Trump told the assembled journalists. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve actually bettered it. What we\u2019re doing is something that will, you\u2019ll never see it again.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Southampton expelled from English 2nd-division playoff final for spying on opponents<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president offered journalists the closest look yet at the construction project, where photographers captured images of the work in progress and Trump touted security measures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump shows off White House ballroom construction as funding stalls in Congress - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=863\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump shows off White House ballroom construction as funding stalls in Congress - 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