Trump Calls Sound Of White House Construction “Music To My Ears”
Construction is officially underway at the White House — where President Trump has broken ground on a 90,000-square-foot ballroom being added to the East Wing. It will double the footprint of the White House.
He called the sounds of demolition crews working Tuesday “music to my ears.” He’s said that presidents have wanted the bigger ballroom for over a century.
With the $250 million expansion, he says, the ballroom will be able to hold 999 people. The largest room in the current White House holds about 200 guests.
THE CONTROVERSIES
Trump emphasized that the project is privately funded — meaning no taxpayer $$ is being used — however the White House has not made the names of donors public. Last week, he hosted over three dozen corporate executives — from companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin — and wealthy businesspeople for a White House dinner in exchange for the “tremendous amounts of money” donated toward the ballroom. Trump has also said he is also partially paying for part of it.
The White House began construction Monday without formal approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees major federal renovations.
Chair Will Scharf — who also happens to be Trump’s staff secretary who passes him Executive Orders to sign — claimed in September the agency lacks jurisdiction over buildings’ demolition on federal property.
Some Democrats criticized the project as out of touch — amid a government shutdown — and destroying a historic building.
MO NEWS: WHITE HOUSE HISTORY 101
This is the most significant White House expansion since the addition of the West Wing in 1902. It is set to double the size of the complex.
White House historians note that renovations and expansions have long marked different eras: Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing, Franklin Roosevelt moved the Oval Office and added an indoor swimming pool, Harry Truman oversaw a major gutting of the White house, and Richard Nixon added a bowling alley and a press room.
The East Wing, which traditionally houses the first lady’s offices, is being partially demolished to make space for the new space.
This is the second major project on White House grounds this year, following the paving over of part of the Rose Garden to add a patio. The ballroom is planned to be completed before the end of his term.