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Ballroom cost grows to $300 million
POLITICS
Trump administration plans to demolish White House's entire East Wing as ballroom cost grows to $300 million
By Weijia Jiang, Jennifer Jacobs
October 22, 2025 / 6:28 PM EDT / CBS News
The Trump administration is planning to demolish the entirety of the White House's East Wing as early as this weekend, two senior administration officials told CBS News, part of a project championed by President Trump to add a ballroom to the complex.
Mr. Trump said Wednesday that the ballroom will cost $300 million — up from the $200 million figure that White House officials initially cited. The White House says the project will be funded entirely by private donors, some of whom have pledged seven or eight figures.
{snip}
"I think it's disgraceful," said Mark, a retired physician. "It's a desecration, really. … I don't know that anybody particularly wants a big ballroom. And even for those people who did want it, the promise was that the White House wasn't going to be touched."
The White House has called pushback against the ballroom project "manufactured outrage," noting that many former presidents have modified the building.
{snip}
© 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Trump administration plans to demolish White House's entire East Wing as ballroom cost grows to $300 million
By Weijia Jiang, Jennifer Jacobs
October 22, 2025 / 6:28 PM EDT / CBS News
The Trump administration is planning to demolish the entirety of the White House's East Wing as early as this weekend, two senior administration officials told CBS News, part of a project championed by President Trump to add a ballroom to the complex.
Mr. Trump said Wednesday that the ballroom will cost $300 million — up from the $200 million figure that White House officials initially cited. The White House says the project will be funded entirely by private donors, some of whom have pledged seven or eight figures.
{snip}
"I think it's disgraceful," said Mark, a retired physician. "It's a desecration, really. … I don't know that anybody particularly wants a big ballroom. And even for those people who did want it, the promise was that the White House wasn't going to be touched."
The White House has called pushback against the ballroom project "manufactured outrage," noting that many former presidents have modified the building.
{snip}
© 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
7 replies
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