ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that the planned White House ballroom was “ahead of schedule and under budget” despite a lawsuit that seeks to halt the project.
Trump showed off new renderings of the ballroom as he defended the project, which required the demolition of the White House East Wing. “We’re doing very well, so we’re ahead of schedule,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington on Sunday evening after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
The ballroom has faced legal and political challenges, including a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation alleging the administration bypassed required reviews and public input. A federal judge has said he will decide by the end of March whether to issue an injunction halting the project while the lawsuit proceeds.
No firm completion date has been given but the White House has said it will be “long before the end” of Trump’s term.
The president on Sunday described the ballroom as a “shed” for a “massive” military complex being built underneath. The ballroom will have “high-grade, bullet-proof” glass windows and a drone-proof roof, he said.
“Unfortunately we’re living in an age where that is a good thing,” Trump said.
Trump has previously said that private donations will fund the entire cost of the $400 million ballroom project, which is part of his broad effort to reshape Washington.
(Reporting by Steve Holland aboard Air Force One; Writing by Rodrigo Campos in New York; Editing by Sergio Non and Kate Mayberry)
