Donald Trump will build a ballroom in the White House
Trump is pushing for construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
Photo of David Everett Strickler in Unsplash
The White House announced Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new $200 million ballroom, a project championed by President Donald Trump that will be completed before the end of his term in 2029.
The 90,000-square-foot (more than 8,300 m²) project will be the first major structural modification to the presidential residence since the addition of the Truman Balcony in 1948. The new room will seat 650 people and will be located in the East Wing, which currently houses administrative offices, including those of the first lady. According to the White House, those offices will be temporarily relocated and the wing will be modernized, with no demolition required.
Trump justifies the project: "The White House deserves better than tents."
Trump has defended the need for the new space to host large-scale official events, arguing that current rooms, such as the East Room (which seats 200 people), are inadequate. For months, the president has criticized the use of tents for state dinners under previous administrations, calling such solutions inappropriate.
“They've wanted a ballroom in the White House for over 150 years. No one did it because they didn't know how to build,” Trump declared during a press conference. “I'm a builder. It will be a first-class project, fast and beautiful.”
The project will be led by Washington-based McCrery Architects and executed by Clark Construction. AECOM will be responsible for the engineering.
The funding will be entirely private, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump and other unidentified donors will cover the costs of the project, the design of which has already been published on the White House website.
Chief of Staff Susie Wiles asserted that the president is committed to preserving the residence's historic value. "Trump is a builder at heart and has a keen eye for detail," she said in a statement.
In addition to the ballroom, the president plans to remodel the Lincoln Room's bathroom to restore its 19th-century aesthetic, criticizing previous interventions that detract from its historic character.
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