On Trump's orders, a grand ballroom with space for almost 1,000 guests is being built in the White House - at a very inopportune time: when the country is without a budget. In addition, the financing of the project has aroused serious criticism.
The East Wing of the White House has already been demolished - in its place is to be built a new ballroom, which will have space for hundreds of guests, for example, for state banquets. The idea is President Donald Trump's personal and he proudly presents it to the media. But the funding for the construction has been met with criticism.
Bigger than the White House
Trump has stressed that the US government has needed more space for receptions at the White House for 150 years. As a White House statement from July stated: “President Donald Trump has promised to solve this problem for future administrations and for the American people”.
The 89,000-square-foot ballroom will be slightly larger than a football field, or twice the size of the White House itself. It will be able to accommodate up to a thousand guests and will cost about $300 million, Trump said.
The East Wing was built during the term of President Theodore Roosevelt. His successor in office, Taft, ordered the construction of a tennis court next door, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, an underground bunker. Kennedy is giving the White House a completely new look from the inside, but it is clear that Trump's current project will overshadow everything with its scale, historians and defenders of cultural monuments warn.
Initially, the new hall was supposed to have seating for 650 guests, but last week Trump made adjustments - the seats would be 999. Until now, large state receptions and other celebrations with many guests were often organized in tents on the lawn south of the White House. Now the new project should put an end to this “unbearable” situation, Trump points out.
At the same time, his ideas are not limited to the hall - the streets and squares within a three-mile radius around the White House are to be “beautified” with a budget of two billion dollars. And for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the state next summer, Trump plans to erect a triumphal arch between 30 and 50 meters high directly opposite the Lincoln Memorial. And the president has personal merit for this project - it is no coincidence that it became known as the “Arc de Trump”.
The country is without a budget, but the ballroom is being built
The president emphasizes that not a cent of taxpayer money will be spent on the ballroom - so work can begin - despite the fact that the country has been without an adopted budget for three weeks.
However, critics believe that construction work at this very moment is problematic: “Is it fair for the government to take on expensive, mainly aesthetic projects while ordinary Americans are in a difficult financial situation? "Without an approved budget, why are tens of thousands of government employees not getting paid?" asks Davina Hurt, director of the Government Ethics Program at Santa Clara University in California.
During the major renovation of the White House during Truman's term, virtually only the exterior walls remained. Photo: Everett Collection/picture alliance
Who is paying for the White House renovation?
Trump emphasizes that he himself would cover the costs of the new ballroom - with the support of wealthy individuals and companies. Sponsors include, for example, the arms company Lockheed Martin, as well as technology giants Microsoft, YouTube, Amazon and Google. Critics fear that this type of funding creates the conditions for corruption.
There is also another thing - private financing of public projects without the approval of Congress has been prohibited since 1982, when the "Antideficiency Act" was passed.
"Companies that provide funds are clearly doing so to ensure the government's favor and to promote their brands among government employees," says lawyer Richard Painter, who was an ethics lawyer in the Bush administration.
Donations in return for favors from Trump?
The concern is that companies or individuals who donate now to Trump's pet project will expect favors from the president in the future. Painter believes the threat is significant.
Lockheed Martin, for example, is seeking major contracts with the Department of Defense, the lawyer said.
This is not the first time the White House has been renovated
The changes Trump wants to make to the seat of American presidents will not be the first the building has undergone since 1792, when its construction began.
Barack Obama, for example, ordered a tennis court to be converted to a basketball court. But that pales in comparison to the massive renovations that were required in 1945, when Harry Truman moved into the White House. At the time, the building was neglected and in very poor condition, and renovations continued from 1948 to 1952. Trump's ballroom should be ready before the end of his term in January 2029.
According to CBS News, the current renovation will also modernize the bunker under the East Wing of the White House, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.