Anyone who has attempted a home renovation can tell you about the dangers of 'scope spread,' but in this case the commander in chief is the one heading up the project so he got the attention of the world when he revealed that the new White House ballroom he dreamed up will be 40% larger than initially conceived.
President Donald Trump recently said in an interview with NBC News, "We’re making it a little bigger. It will be top of the line, as good as it can get anywhere in the world." He says the ballroom will hold 900 people compared to the initial estimate of 650.
Construction crews have already started building the new ballroom at the White House, with Trump indicating that he may use his own funds and outside donors to cover the $200 million costs. He has called those who donate to the project "patriots."
Trump says the ballroom is necessary for hosting dignitaries and foreign leaders at the White House, as the current setup of using tents on the South Lawn. Renderings from the White House show the ballroom as heavily gilded in true Trump fashion.
The completion of the ballroom is expected by early 2029, coinciding with the end of Trump's second term, and will be the most significant overhaul of the White House since the Roosevelt administration.
In a press release on the project, the Trump administration wrote, "The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, it’s theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical. The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits. The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times, with a second story added in 1942."
The White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said the following: “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.”