On March 31, 2026, federal judge Richard Leon ruled that construction on the proposed $400 million White House ballroom is unlawful because Trump never sought the required congressional authorization for it.
At first Trump said his ballroom would cost $200 million and promised it would be funded through private donations. Big corporations like Meta, Amazon, Google, Comcast and Apple then raced to curry favor with Trump by shoveling money towards his ballroom project, as did the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who has lied to the public about his relationship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The cost of the project soon climbed to an estimated $300 million, then $400 million. In the run-up to Republicans’ new billion-dollar proposal, a separate bill put forth by Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and other senate Republicans proposed spending $400 million in taxpayer funds on Trump’s illegal ballroom and funding it with customs fees.
Democrats: Trump’s ballroom a “vanity project”
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump’s proposed ballroom is a “vanity project that resulted from the destruction that was unauthorized of the East Wing of the White House.”
Trump has been using the latest attempt to assassinate him at the White House correspondents’ dinner to argue the need for his new golden ballroom, saying that having a huge hole in the ground next to the White House presents a security vulnerability. Judge Leon rejected that claim, saying any “large hole” in the ground beside the White House is a “problem of the President’s own making.”
Oh Margo, you are so wrong. My family and I do not get paid, nor do any of the thousands of people who march in the “No Kings Rally’s”. We march because we fear that we are losing our democracy under this administration. The DOGE program was intended to save taxpayers money, yet our debt is projected to be around $1.9 trillion dollars in 2026. If you want to know what kind of person Donald Trump is read the “Art of the Deal” and stop watching Fox Entertainment! Trump did not seek Congressional approval to tear down the East Wing of the White House. That building had served us well since 1909. This is a “vanity project” by him that was supposed to cost $200 million, then $400 million by Feb,2026, and now they want more money to build it, and it isn’t coming from private donations. What about his “Board of Peace”, he goes out and starts a war with no plan…. Lunacy at its finest!
Trump did not and does not want taxpayers to pay for the addition! He has private donors and he will not even benefit from it since it will not be finished before his term ends! The money will also benefit the security of the President and hopefully we will never have to worry about a President being shot while hosting an event!
People like you are part of the problem you have severe TDS! Time to lay the knife down and try to unite people instead of dividing them!
You di know that your No Kings Rallys are pushed and supported by dark money, George Soros is pretty proud of you for continuing the narrative!
Have a nice day!
Just a reminder, Margo, that a federal court ruled it it was illegal for Trump to tear down the east wing of the White House without first obtaining approval from Congress. You may not understand that the White House does not belong to Trump. It is a historic building that belongs to U.S. taxpayers, who fund its maintenance and upkeep. Senate Republicans quietly slipped the $1 billion towards the ballroom into a measure funding immigration, in an apparent effort to curry Trump’s favor by shoveling a huge amount of taxpayer money into funding his pet project. Trump did not propose the measure himself. Senate Republicans proposed it for him.