President Donald Trump announced that his gold-plated White House ballroom could be completed in as soon as a year and a half.
The White House previously estimated that the massive new addition to the historic building would be completed “long before” the end of the president’s term in 2028.
“I want to welcome you all to the White House. It’s an honor to have you. It’s a special place. You know, for 150 years, they’ve been trying to do a ballroom,” Trump said at the Congressional Ball Thursday.
“They never got it up, but we got it off. In a very short period of time, like about a year and a half, you’re going to have the best ballroom anywhere in the country,” he said.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom has been a source of controversy for months. It led to the East Wing of the White House getting demolished — a move that critics have called a “disgrace.”
The $300 million project will be funded by private donors. Contributors include tech giants Amazon, Apple Google, and Microsoft, crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple, the Winklevoss twins and the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to a list provided by the White House.
Democrats have introduced legislation to put guardrails on the project.
In November, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Rep. Robert Garcia introduced the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act, which would require increased transparency around contributions, such as banning donations from individuals with conflicts of interest. The legislation would also prohibit the president and vice president from donating.
“Americans shouldn’t have to wonder whether President Trump is building a ballroom to facilitate a pay-to-play scheme for political favors. My new bill will put an end to what looks like bribery in plain sight,” Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a statement.
This month, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced the No Palaces Act that would require the White House to require approval from the commission for demolitions and allow Congress to disapprove of proposed changes to the historic building.
“President Trump took a wrecking ball to the White House—demolishing the iconic East Wing to make way for his monstrous, multi-million-dollar ballroom,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The guardrails in this measure will ensure future presidents cannot remake the People’s House into their personal palace.”
The president replaced James McCrery II, the original architect overseeing the ballroom project, after his small team reportedly struggled to make deadlines as Trump hoped to expand the ballroom’s size. McCrery remains on the project in a consulting role, the White House confirmed.
Trump tapped Shalom Baranes, whose firm has been behind numerous major federal projects including the main Treasury building, to take over.
