Trump shows reporters ballroom construction site as lawmakers balk at
$1B for White House security
[May 20, 2026]
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Shouting over the banging and clanging sounds from
heavy construction equipment, President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a
group of reporters a closer look at the construction for the White House
ballroom he's building on the site of the former East Wing to mount a
defense for the project that has hit a speed bump in Congress.
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 price tag in an election year
where voters are grappling with gasoline, grocery and other prices
spurred to new heights by the Iran war and the disruption in oil
supplies.
So Trump, ever the pitchman, surprised White House reporters by bringing
them to a platform overlooking the construction site on a hot and breezy
morning as workers in hard hats and fluorescent yellow vests milled
about below.
Easels were set up to display renderings of the ballroom building and at
least one of them blew off in the wind. “Give that to me, I'll hold it,”
Trump told an assistant.
“There will never be another building like this built, that I can tell
you,” Trump told reporters.
He highlighted the security aspects of the building, notably its “dead
flat” roof made of “very strong steel" and said it is “drone-proof”
because "if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won’t have any impact —
but it’s also meant as a drone port, so it protects all of Washington,
the roof of the building.”
He said the military will “stay on it" to keep watch over the city.
There's no air conditioning or other equipment on the roof for safety
reasons, Trump said, explaining that all duct work and equipment like it
was hidden within the walls of the complex, which will serve as a
“shield” for a military hospital, research facilities, offices for the
first lady and her staff, and a full-service kitchen — in addition to a
ballroom big enough for 1,000 people.
He said the ballroom building goes down six stories underground and is
really “complex” because “everything is intertwined.”
“The roof goes with the ground floor, the ground floor goes with the
roof. The roof also goes down into the basement," the president said.
“This is one well-knit building. One thing doesn't work without the
other.”
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Work continues on the construction of the ballroom at the White
House, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington, where the East Wing
once stood. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump says the ballroom is a ‘gift’ to the country
He repeated that the $400 million ballroom cost will be covered by
donors, including him, and that the work is being done “in strict
coordination” with the military and U.S. Secret Service.
“This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer,” Trump said.
“This is a gift to the United States of America.”
But it's somewhat of an unwanted present as polling shows most
Americans oppose the ballroom, which is embroiled in litigation in
federal court. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in
April found that a majority, 56%, of U.S. adults oppose Trump’s
decision to tear down the East Wing to make way for the ballroom,
while only 28% are in support.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to halt
construction until Congress approves plans for the building.
Trump insisted he will have “very little” time to use the ballroom.
He recently announced that it will be ready in September 2028, less
than six months before his term ends.
“This is really for other presidents," he said.
Trump sidestepped a question about whether he'll kick in any more of
his own money if Congress rejects the $1 billion funding request.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump's tour was not in
response to the difficulties brewing in Congress. “President Trump
is the most transparent president of all time and 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," Ingle said.
Trump also touched on some of the other beautification projects he's
undertaking across the city, such as restarting dormant park
fountains. He claimed to be spending much less to clean up the
Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool than did his immediate predecessors
— both Democrats.
“I'm doing a job on the Reflecting Lake for a fraction of what they
paid,” Trump said. He's having the surface coated in a shade of blue
and wants to reopen it by July 4. A separate nonprofit group, The
Cultural Landscape Foundation, has sued to halt this project.
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