Originally published on 8/1/25

President Donald Trump has announced that the White House will undergo a $200 million redesign this fall, adding a 90,000-square-foot ballroom to the East Wing. This addition has been discussed since the late 2000s and early 2010s, when former President Barack Obama was in office. 

“We’re good at building,” Trump said in a statement on Thursday, July 31. “I’m good at building things, and we’ll get it built quickly and on time. It’ll be beautiful—top of the line.”

But what exactly does the renovation mean? Could it potentially harm the historic Washington, D.C.-based building? We looked into all of that, and more below. 

A look inside Trump’s $200M White House ballroom project

President Trump announced that he had hired McCrery Architects to help him expand the East Wing of the White House into a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that can accommodate up to 650 people. It will be decorated in the president’s signature white and gold style, a design choice that has already been reflected in rooms like the highly photographed Oval Office. 

“Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman. I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance,” McCrery Architects CEO Jim McCrery said in a statement, per the White House website. 

Construction on the project is expected to begin in September 2025 and is reportedly scheduled for completion by the end of Trump’s second term in January 2029.

Experts believe no harm will come to the building during the renovation, with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles saying in a statement, “President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail. The President and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserving the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future Administrations and generations of Americans to come.” 

Some members of Congress have since voiced their concern for the redesign, especially given how much it’s going to cost, with Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, saying in a statement, “Listen, I’m happy to eat my cheeseburger at my desk. I don’t need a $200 million ballroom to eat it in. OK?”

Others, like Mark Pocan, a U.S. representative from Wisconsin and member of the House Appropriations panel, voiced concerns about where the funding for the project is coming from, saying, in a separate statement, “It appears that he’s trying to do this perhaps with private donations, but that could be a little odd.”

“This is a major renovation and clearly should come before the committee,” he continued. “This would fall under the definition of having proper oversight. It’s a perfectly great conversation to have in a subcommittee meeting.”

It is believed that both President Trump and some private donors are contributing to the cost of the ballroom, and it’s unclear at this time whether those donations could be seen as “bribes” in the future. 

The latest on the Rose Garden renovations

Along with the addition of the ballroom, President Trump has also recently shared with the people of the United States that he plans to redo the historic Rose Garden and replace it with a Mar-a-Lago-style patio. 

In doing so, he has had a construction team remove all of the flowers and replace them with white tile, replacing the 102-year-old landmark created by First Lady Ellen Wilson in 1913. 

“You know, we use [the Rose Garden] for press conferences, and it doesn’t work because the people fall,” Trump told Fox News of the decision to resign. “The terrain can be wet, and the soft ground can be an issue for some… Women, with the high heels, it just didn’t work.”

This isn’t the first time a member of the Trump family has tried to redesign the beloved garden. In 2020, First Lady Melania Trump tried to change the way it looked; however, she was met with considerable backlash, and the project was soon stopped after she and her husband left office less than a year later. 

The history of White House renovations and how this one compares

The White House was first built between 1792 and 1800. It was then rebuilt in the 1820s after the British Army burned it down in 1815 during the War of 1812. Since then, all of the presidents except for George Washington have lived and run the country there. 

Over the years, parts of the building have undergone renovations, most notably from 1949 to 1952, when President Harry S. Truman decided to reconstruct the entire building after determining that it had been neglected during the Great Depression and World War II. The renovation has since been named the “Truman Reconstruction.” 

Aside from that, several small changes have been made every time a president moves in as the White House is both their home and office; however, none have been as extravagant or costly as President Trump’s. 

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/news/inside-trumps-200-million-white-house-ballroom