President Donald Trump offered an impromptu tour of the $400 million ballroom project at the White House on May 19, speaking over the din of construction with a massive dug up site behind him, just days after a Senate official thwarted a Republican effort to fast-track a $1 billion proposed Secret Service line item for security enhancements related to the project.
It was the ultimate backdrop for a president who sees himself as builder-in-chief – the only thing missing was a hard hat.
Holding up various renderings of the ballroom throughout his presentation, the president revealed new details on the military complex being built underneath the 90,000-square-foot project, including a research center and a military hospital.
“They’re building a military hospital. They’re building all sorts of research facilities, also meeting rooms and rooms that go hand in hand for the military- using the ballroom,” he said. “And the ballroom is really a shield and protecting all of things that are built here.”
He talked about the two facades: one inspired by ancient Greece, the other by Rome. He said the structure would be drone-proof and missile-proof.
“It’s not being built for me. And I’m a really good builder,” he said. “The thing I do best in life is build.”
Trump was every bit like a developer unveiling a new project – he even catered breakfast for the press.
While Trump has said the ballroom is being financed by himself and donors, including American companies, the administration supports Senate Republican legislation seeking $1 billion in taxpayer dollars for security upgrades. The cost of the ballroom itself has doubled from the time it was announced last July, from $200 million to $400 million.
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough found on May 16 that the ballroom security enhancements tacked on to the GOP immigration enforcement bill would be subject to a 60-vote threshold to pass, not just a simple majority.
The legislation states the money would be used for “security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter of the White House Compound, to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.”
The project has been subject to various court actions, including a federal judge’s injunction blocking construction until it gets “express authorization from Congress.” That ruling was put on hold by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, setting oral arguments in the case for June 5.
“This is a gift. This is not gonna be paid for by the taxpayer. That we have a judge that thinks it’s a terrible thing, that we’re making a gift,” Trump said. “He said it’s terrible that we’re making a gift. It should be paid for by the taxpayer. That’s one I’ve never heard before.”
The Trump administration has argued that the entire ballroom construction needs to proceed or it would leave the Executive Mansion “open and exposed” and create “grave national-security harms” to the building, the president and his family and staff.
Trump also listed features that he said would be part of the project in a Truth Social post in April: “Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass.”
Contributing: Joey Garrison
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Builder-in-chief: Trump revels in White House ballroom construction
Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
