{"id":7927,"date":"2026-05-19T20:02:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7927"},"modified":"2026-05-19T20:02:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T20:02:42","slug":"trump-shows-reporters-ballroom-construction-site-as-lawmakers-balk-at-1b-for-white-house-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=7927","title":{"rendered":"Trump shows reporters ballroom construction site as lawmakers balk at $1B for White House security"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Shouting over the banging and clanging sounds from heavy construction equipment, President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a group of reporters a closer look at the construction for the White House ballroom he\u2019s building on the site of the former East Wing to mount a defense for the project that has hit a speed bump in Congress.<\/p>

Read more Democratic-led states challenge the Trump administration\u2019s new caps on federal student loans<\/a><\/p>\n

The administration has asked for $1 billion from taxpayers for security additions on the White House campus, including for the ballroom. But the Senate parliamentarian ruled the proposal could not be included in a bill to fund immigrant enforcement agencies for three years, and several Republican lawmakers have balked at the price tag in an election year where voters are grappling with gasoline, grocery and other prices spurred to new heights by the Iran war and the disruption in oil supplies.<\/p>\n

So Trump, ever the pitchman, surprised White House reporters by bringing them to a platform overlooking the construction site on a hot and breezy morning as workers in hard hats and fluorescent yellow vests milled about below.<\/p>\n

Easels were set up to display renderings of the ballroom building and at least one of them blew off in the wind. \u201cGive that to me, I\u2019ll hold it,\u201d Trump told an assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will never be another building like this built, that I can tell you,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n

He highlighted the security aspects of the building, notably its \u201cdead flat\u201d roof made of \u201cvery strong steel\u201d and said it is \u201cdrone-proof\u201d because \u201cif a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won\u2019t have any impact \u2014 but it\u2019s also meant as a drone port, so it protects all of Washington, the roof of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the military will \u201cstay on it\u201d to keep watch over the city.<\/p>

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There\u2019s no air conditioning or other equipment on the roof for safety reasons, Trump said, explaining that all duct work and equipment like it was hidden within the walls of the complex, which will serve as a \u201cshield\u201d for a military hospital, research facilities, offices for the first lady and her staff, and a full-service kitchen \u2014 in addition to a ballroom big enough for 1,000 people.<\/p>\n

He said the ballroom building goes down six stories underground and is really \u201ccomplex\u201d because \u201ceverything is intertwined.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roof goes with the ground floor, the ground floor goes with the roof. The roof also goes down into the basement,\u201d the president said. \u201cThis is one well-knit building. One thing doesn\u2019t work without the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump says the ballroom is a \u2018gift\u2019 to the country<\/h4>\n

He repeated that the $400 million ballroom cost will be covered by donors, including him, and that the work is being done \u201cin strict coordination\u201d with the military and U.S. Secret Service.<\/p>

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