On Oct. 23, 2025, President Donald Trump demolished the East Wing to make space for what Trump calls “a very, very expensive, beautiful building”, referring to the ballroom that would be built where the East Wing used to be. The proposed 90,000 square foot ballroom was initially projected for $200 million but has since ballooned up to $400 million.
Initial plans were to fund the construction of the ballroom through private donations by Trump and other “patriot donors.” The underground section, a secure bunker, would be funded by public money along with security upgrades. After the White House Correspondents Dinner the message changed. The construction of the ballroom was reframed as a solution to the security concerns surrounding Trump, or a way to prevent an attack like the one at the dinner.
“I’d like the vote as soon as possible to accelerate what America needs,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said, “A secure facility for the president and others to meet in, to have a good time, to enjoy themselves without putting the nation at risk.”
In late April, Sen. Graham, along with Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt, created a bill to fund the ballroom with tax payers’ dollars. The three have pushed a bill that would disregard the private funding that has been raised so far. Sen. Graham said the already attained private funding “can be used but I think they should be used for buying [fine] china and stuff like that.”
The most recent plan for funding arrived on May. 4 as house Republicans proposed a $70 billion bill for the funding of immigration enforcement agencies and other related agencies like Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security. Out of the $70 billion, one billion would go towards the secret service for security upgrades in response to the attempts on the president’s life. Many propose the idea that the construction of the ballroom constitutes a security necessity and thus, the funding for the secret service and presidential safety should be spent on the building.
The construction of the ballroom has other problems than the source of funding. The construction has been fought in the courts since the initial demolition. One of the primary forces against the ballroom’s construction is the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), who have argued Trump has overstepped his authority by demolishing the East wing of the White House without congressional approval. At the time of demolition Trump acted without approval from Congress the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). Later on Apr. 2, the 12-member NCPC passed a vote allowing for the construction on.
Because of Trump acting without approval from the NCPC and Congress, Judge Richard Leon ruled in favor of the NTHP on March 31, stating, “The ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion.”
In a later statement after much dissatisfaction from the NTHP and those in favor of the ballroom Leon clarified in his amended decision that “[My] Order [is] to stop only above-ground construction of the planned ballroom. My Amended Order does not, however, stop below-ground construction of national security facilities, work necessary to provide for presidential security, and construction necessary to protect and secure the White House and the construction site itself.”
Unfortunately for the NTHP, the Trump administration was able to push the case to an appeals court and the court was able to overturn the decision with a three‑judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The cause ruling of Judge Leon has now been put on hold as they wait for arguments on June 5 for the continuation of the original ruling.
The Trump administration has attempted to have an uncontested construction of the ballroom. In light of the correspondents dinner shootings, the DOJ requested that the case be dropped, but Trust attorney Gregory Craig said, “What Saturday’s awful event does not change is that the Constitution and multiple federal statutes require Congress to authorize construction of a ballroom on White House grounds, and that Congress has not done so…”
Article by Ty Jones