Will Trump's White House Ballroom construction resume? Latest as GOP pushes for $400M state funding
A shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday has added fresh urgency to President Donald Trump’s new ballroom at the White House project. Now, a group of Senate Republicans are pushing a bill to fund it saying that the project is no longer just about prestige but about national security.
Senator Lindsey Graham, who is one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress is now leading a push to get the ballroom built.
Graham has teamed up with Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) to introduce a bill that would authorize the construction of a 90,000-square-foot presidential ballroom on the White House grounds, with a military complex and a Secret Service annex built beneath it for use in emergencies, according to The Hill.
Who will pay for the Ballroom?
The Trump administration previously said that the ball room is funded privately and that “zero taxpayer dollars” are being used. But now Graham’s bill proposes a different approach. He is saying that congress should fund it, as per The Hill.
Senator Schmitt said, “Underneath it will be a lot of military stuff. There will be a Secret Service annex and we pay for it by offsetting it with customs fees. Private donations can be used but I think they should be used for buying [fine] china and stuff like that.”
Schmitt also told reporters that national park fees would also defray the costs of the project.
Also Read: What is OPEC, OPEC+ and why the UAE no longer want to be a part of it
Where does construction stand?
Construction on the White House’s East Wing where a new ballroom is planned has already faced legal issues. A US judge, Richard Leon earlier ordered that all above-ground construction must stop until Congress approves the project, he said on March 31. In his ruling, Leon wrote that “The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
Later, an appellate court allowed construction to continue for now, at least until early June which gives the project more time, according to CBS News.
Also Read: What’s hidden beneath Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom? President claims a ‘massive military complex’
What Trump says about the project?
Trump also spoke about the military aspect of the project during a Cabinet meeting on March 26 saying it was originally meant to be kept secret.
“I mean, now it’s no secret, the military wanted it more than anybody,” he said.
“It was supposed to be secret, but it became secret because of people that are really unpatriotic saying things, but doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. It’s going to be great.”
He later described the ballroom as a form of cover for the underground structure.
“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing,” Trump said
Trump has also defended the need for the ballroom, saying the White House has lacked such a space for many years. He said that the largest existing room, the East Room can only host about 125 people for formal dinners and larger events have had to be held in tents on the South Lawn.
“I think it’ll be the finest ballroom of its kind anywhere in the world,” Trump said.