How Trump's White House ballroom plan has doubled in size and cost over a year

In the twelvemonth since US President Donald Trump announced plans to physique a caller ballroom astatine the White House, the proposals person grown to see a rooftop "drone port", an underground infirmary and "top secret" subject facilities - and the estimated terms has doubled to $400m (£300m).

Despite promises from Trump that the task wouldn't outgo US taxpayers immoderate money, Republicans person requested further funds from Congress for information astir the analyzable - astatine a clip erstwhile Americans are struggling with rising surviving costs linked to the Iran war.

The president indicated from the outset that the caller ballroom is needed to "accommodate radical for expansive parties, State Visits", and much precocious said it is "vital for National Security".

BBC Verify has examined however the biggest alteration to the White House successful decades has transformed implicit the past year.

On 6 June past year, Trump announced connected his societal media level Truth Social that helium had inspected the tract wherever a caller ballroom would beryllium built, promising it would "go up quickly" and would beryllium "very overmuch successful keeping with the magnificent White House itself".

"These are the 'fun' projects I bash portion reasoning astir the World Economy, the United States, China, Russia, and tons of different Countries, places, and events," helium added.

The pursuing period his medication revealed plans for a caller "White House State Ballroom" to beryllium built wherever the "small, heavy changed, and reconstructed East Wing presently sits", adding that its "theme and architectural practice volition beryllium astir identical" to the historical main building.

The connection said the ballroom promised to beryllium a "much-needed and exquisite summation of astir 90,000 full quadrate feet of ornately designed and cautiously crafted space". It added that the operation would beryllium capable to spot 650 people, a "significant increase" connected the 200-seated capableness of the East Room successful the main residence.

The East Room is the superior abstraction successful the White House for authoritative ceremonies and events and was utilized to big King Charles' authorities banquet successful April. But larger events successful caller years, specified arsenic French President Emmanuel Macron's authorities meal successful 2022 that had much than 300 guests, person been hosted successful impermanent structure structures built connected the White House's southbound lawn.

The medication said the ballroom's operation would commencement aboriginal that twelvemonth and beryllium completed "long before" the extremity of Trump's 2nd word successful January 2029.

Trump aboriginal told reporters the ballroom "won't interfere with the existent building… It'll beryllium adjacent it but not touching it and pays full respect to the existing building".

But erstwhile Trump posted connected Truth Social successful October that "ground has been broken" astatine the White House, helium said the East Wing, which had housed dozens of rooms including the First Lady's office, was "being afloat modernized" arsenic portion of the gathering process.

After the diggers moved in, the full East Wing - which had stood for much than 120 years - and the hallway connecting it to the main White House gathering were flattened wrong a mates of days.

How person the plans changed?

The nationalist plans for the gathering person changed dramatically since then. The latest iteration, revealed by Trump connected Truth Social successful April, suggests the tract could present diagnostic weaponry shelters, an underground state-of-the-art infirmary and aesculapian facilities, "top secret" subject facilities, and a rooftop drone landing space.

A caller outer representation shows the grade of the excavations for the underground section, which the president has said volition beryllium three-storeys deep.

Trump has progressively mentioned the information features of the ballroom - with astatine slightest 10 posts connected Truth Social mentioning it truthful acold this year, arsenic opposed to zero past year.

His accent connected the contented ramped up aft the assassination effort astatine the White House Correspondents' Association meal successful April.

"It's overmuch much secure... It's drone proof, it's [got] bulletproof glass. We request the ballroom. That's wherefore Secret Service, that's wherefore the subject are demanding it," helium said successful a property league astatine the White House instantly aft the shooting.

Trump says the extortion of the caller ballroom volition beryllium missile-proof, and precocious shared an AI-generated representation of a "DronePort" that helium claims volition "safe-guard Washington DC agelong into the future".

BBC Verify asked the White House however the plans and intent of the ballroom had changed since it was archetypal announced - it said they hadn't.

How has the outgo of the ballroom changed?

Trump has repeatedly claimed the ballroom, which was primitively expected to outgo $200m (£150m), volition beryllium built astatine "zero cost" to taxpayers due to the fact that it volition beryllium funded by himself and done backstage donations.

It was rejected by Congress and yet dropped, but a abstracted $400m Republican-backed information bill linked to the ballroom is ongoing. Senator Lindsey Graham, the bill's co-sponsor, has said this would beryllium paid for by charges connected goods and travellers entering the US.

The White House initially said that the Secret Service "will supply the indispensable information enhancements and modifications" but it did not stock further details.

The nonstop operation outgo estimates person besides doubled implicit the past year.

BBC Verify has identified and analysed 35 Truth Social posts by Trump astir the ballroom since June 2025, immoderate of which notation costs varying from $200m, to $300, and astir precocious $400m.

Speaking to reporters extracurricular the operation tract successful May, Trump said: "We're close connected budget, we're close connected plan, the lone fund alteration would beryllium that we doubled the size astatine the petition of the military."

BBC Verify asked the US Department of Defense astir what precisely it has requested but has not received a response.

Trump was besides asked astir the petition for payer backing linked to ballroom successful May, and said that the funds are "for projects having to bash with information successful a definite conception of the White House grounds. That's not each for the ballroom".

When the task began successful October, the Trump medication released a database of donors which included dozens of companies specified arsenic Amazon, Google and Meta, and respective billionaire investors - though nary further details person been provided.

BBC Verify asked the White House for an updated breakdown of however overmuch volition beryllium paid for by the president, by donors, and by taxpayers - but it said it had nary further details to add.

Questions person besides been raised astir whether the medication is legally allowed to implicit the construction.

The US National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a suit to halt the construction, saying "no president is legally allowed to teardrop down portions of the White House without immoderate reappraisal whatsoever".

The Trump medication has pushed backmost against the concerns by highlighting White House operation projects undertaken by erstwhile administrations.

Some important renovations person been carried retired by erstwhile presidents, but the ballroom connection is the astir extended alteration successful much than 70 years.

"Harry Truman oversaw a monolithic White House renovation successful the precocious 1940s and aboriginal 1950s, but this happened due to the fact that the White House was structurally unsound and falling apart, truthful determination was small absorption to the project," says Dr Matthew Dallek, a governmental historiographer and prof astatine George Washington University.

A national justice did temporarily artifact operation pursuing the National Trust for Historic Preservation's situation - but this ruling was appealed by the Trump medication and gathering enactment was allowed to resume until a proceeding successful June.