Shouting from construction equipment and amid heavy security planning, President Donald Trump on Tuesday took reporters to a platform overlooking the White House ballroom project under way at the former East Wing, a move aimed at highlighting the scope of the work as it faces resistance in Congress and litigation in federal court. Workers in hard hats and fluorescent vests moved around the site below, while Trump presented renderings of the building and discussed its design.
Trump said the “dead flat” roof would be made of “very strong steel” and described it as “drone-proof” because, he said, if “a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact.” He added that the roof is also intended as a “drone port,” saying it both deflects an impact and “protects all of Washington” from above.
He told reporters the military will “stay on it” as part of the security plan, and he described other elements of the building’s infrastructure as integrated to reduce risk. Trump said there is no air conditioning or other equipment on the roof for safety reasons and that duct work and related equipment are hidden within the walls of the complex.
Trump portrayed the ballroom structure as a single integrated project, describing its layout as “complex” with components linked together. He said the ballroom building goes down six stories underground, calling it “one well-knit building” in which “everything is intertwined,” with “the roof” connected to the “ground floor,” and the roof extending into the basement.
Trump also described the uses he says are part of the larger complex, saying it includes a “shield” for a military hospital, research facilities, and offices for the first lady and her staff, along with a full-service kitchen. He said the ballroom would be large enough for 1,000 people.
In addressing cost and funding, Trump said the $400 million ballroom cost would be covered by donors, including him, and he said the work is being done “in strict coordination” with the military and the U.S. Secret Service. “This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer,” Trump told reporters, adding, “This is a gift to the United States of America.”
Congress has become a central obstacle for the plan, according to the Associated Press report. The administration has asked for $1 billion from taxpayers for security additions on the White House campus, including for the ballroom, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal could not be included in a bill to fund immigrant enforcement agencies for three years, and several Republican lawmakers have balked at the $1 billion price tag in an election year amid concerns about gasoline, grocery and other prices.
Trump said he will have “very little” time to use the ballroom, and he said it is expected to be ready in September 2028, which the report notes is less than six months before his term ends. “This is really for other presidents,” he said.
The project’s opponents point to both the price and the approval pathway. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to halt construction until Congress approves plans for the building, and the report says the ballroom is embroiled in litigation in federal court. The Associated Press report also cited polling from April, saying a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos survey found that 56% of U.S. adults oppose Trump’s decision to tear down the East Wing to make way for the ballroom, while 28% support it.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the tour was not a response to the difficulties in Congress. Ingle said Trump was “excited to showcase to the press and American people the amazing gift he is giving to the White House and generations of future presidents to come,” and described Trump as the “most transparent president of all time.”
Trump also used the appearance to discuss other projects in Washington, including restarting dormant park fountains and a plan he described for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Trump claimed he was spending much less than his predecessors Democrats did to clean up the reflecting pool, saying he wants to reopen it by July 4, while another nonprofit group, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, has sued to halt that project.