Amid Government Shutdown, Trump Tears Down White House East Wing to Build a Ballroom
Trump started demolition on the East Wing of the White House on Monday. Here's what he's planning to build.
Oct. 21 2025, Published 3:04 p.m. ET
Trump is tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom.
The ballroom Trump plans to build over the East Wing of the White House will cost around $250 million and be 90,000 square feet, large enough to seat 650 people when it is finished, per NPR. Demolition of the East Wing began Oct. 20, 2025. This comes just days after Trump announced his plans for another expensive project, the "Arc de Trump."
The Trump administration said that the ballroom will be funded by Trump himself and other private donors.
Trump announced the project on social media in October 2025.
He wrote: “I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom ... Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!”
He also mentioned the project while he was speaking with Louisiana college baseball champs.
Trump said, "You know, we’re building right behind us — we’re building a ballroom. They wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I’m giving that honor to this wonderful place."
He continued, "I didn’t know I’d be standing here right now, because right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically."
The National Capital Planning Commission has not approved Trump's ballroom project.
During Trump's fundraiser for the new ballroom, he said that there were "zero zoning conditions" for the project. According to CNN, Trump bragged about not having approvals for the construction. He recalled, “I said, ‘How long will it take me?’ ‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the President of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”
What will Trump's ballroom look like?
Per CNN, renderings of plans for Trump's ballroom show "a vast space with gold and crystal chandeliers, gilded Corinthian columns, a coffered ceiling with gold inlays, gold floor lamps, and a checkered marble floor."
The expensive project doesn't sit well with some Americans amid the government shutdown.
As many federal workers are missing paychecks because of the government shutdown, the ballroom project is leaving a sour taste for some. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla. shared on X, "Trump’s billionaire ballroom. This is a disgrace. Welcome to the Second Gilded Age."
Trump said he loves the sound of constructrion.
According to CNBC, Trump talked about the new construction during a Rose Garden event on Monday, Oct. 20. He said, “You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back ... That’s music to my ears. I love that sound. Other people don’t like it. I love it.”