On the site of what was the White House’s East Wing, US President Donald Trump has begun construction of a $ 300m ballroom.
The complex’s first significant structural change since 1948 was the beginning of the construction project, which started on Monday. The former East Wing, which was used for ceremonies and the first lady’s offices, is being torn down.
Concerning the level of access this might grant donors to the country’s most powerful man, the work is being funded by private donations from people, businesses, and tech companies, including Google and Amazon.
According to a pledge form seen by CBS News, donors may be eligible for “recognition” of their contributions. However, more information about this has not been made.
What will the cost of the new ballroom be?
Since plans were made public earlier this year, the estimated cost of building Trump’s ornate, 8 360 square meters (90, 0000 square feet) ballroom, which he claims will accommodate 999 people, has fluctuated.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the cost would be about $200 million in a statement released in August. Trump, however, increased that figure to $300 million this week.
The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal agency overseeing these operations, is shut down, and construction began during a US government shutdown.
Who provides the ballroom funding?
Every President has dreamed of having a ballroom at the White House to accommodate guests for grand parties, state visits, etc., Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. I’m honored to be the first president to finally start this urgent project at no extra cost to the American taxpayer.
He added that “The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by numerous generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly” and that he himself would also contribute to the bill.
However, it appears that at least some of the donations were made as part of negotiations with Trump regarding other matters.
As part of a legal agreement with Trump, YouTube will contribute $22 million to the ballroom’s construction as part of a settlement in 2021 regarding the suspension of his account following the Capitol riots that year when his supporters seized Congress on January 6 in an effort to stop Joe Biden from assuming the presidency. Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube and Google, is the same.
How much money would be donated by the White House was not made public. On a list that the White House gave to the media included other well-known donors, some of whom have recently been involved in US legal battles. Among them are:
Amazon
The Federal Trade Commission settled with Amazon last month over allegations that Jeff Bezos-founded multinational tech company had enrolled millions of customers in its streaming service, Prime, without their knowledge and made it difficult to revoke the subscriptions.
In addition to fixing its subscription system, Amazon will pay $ 2.5 billion in penalties and refunds as a result of the settlement.
Apple
CEO Tim Cook serves as CEO of US-based multinational Apple, which produces the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.
Apple requested on Tuesday that a US appeals court overturn a federal judge’s April ruling that forbids it from collecting commissions on some app purchases.
Coinbase
The largest US cryptocurrency exchange is Coinbase. CEO Brian Armstrong serves as its leader.
A US federal judge upheld the company’s claim that it had the authority to file a narrowed lawsuit on September 30 and that it had the authority to sue the company for allegedly hiding significant business risks, including the possibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit and the possibility of losing assets in bankruptcy.
A significant antitrust lawsuit against Google was brought by the US Department of Justice last month. The tech giant unlawfully monopolized online search and search advertising, according to a federal court ruling.
Lockheed Martin
President and CEO Jim Taiclet serves as the company’s president and CEO.
Lockheed Martin agreed to pay $ 29.74 million in February to settle federal claims that the business had overcharged the US government by providing inflated cost estimates for F-35 fighter jet contracts from 2013 to 2015.
Microsoft
Satya Nadella, the tech group’s CEO, made a record $ 96.5 million in 2025 as the company’s CEO.
Family of Lutnick
The Family of Lutnick is associated with businessman Howard Lutnick, who is also Trump’s commerce secretary.
The investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald is led by Lutnick. His business, Cantor Gaming, has previously been accused of repeatedly breaking state and federal laws, according to Politico’s report from February.
Twins Winklevoss
There are separate donors for Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
The brothers are known for cofounding the Gemini and Winklevoss Capital exchanges as well as US investors and entrepreneurs.
The SEC agreed to settle a lawsuit involving Gemini’s unregistered cryptocurrency lending program to retail investors last month.
Who else is there?
The list also includes:
- Altria Group
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- Caterpillar
- Comcast
- Emilia Fanjul and J. Pepe
- Hard Rock International
- HP
- Meta Platforms
- Micron Technology
- NextEra Energy
- Palantir Technologies
- Ripple
- Reynolds American
- T-Mobile
- Tether America
- Union Pacific
- Adelson Family Foundation
- Stefan E. Brodie
- Betty W. Johnson Foundation
- Cascarillas Charles and Marissa
- Shari and Edward Glazer
- Harold Hamm
- Benjamin Leon Sr.
- Foundation for Laura and Isaac Perlmutter
- Stephen A. Schwarzman
- Konstantin Sokolov
- Jeff Sprecher and Kelly Loeffler
- Paolo Tiramani
Is Trump’s ballroom’s private funding moral?
Bruce Fein, a constitutional lawyer, claimed that the private funding is in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
The executive branch of government is required by the US federal law to not accept donations from private individuals for official government purposes unless Congress has given them a legally enforceable consent.
According to Fein, the act safeguards the “congressive power of the purse.”
Consider the following analogy: Congress won’t fund a wall with Mexico. Could Trump proceed with the construction of the wall that Congress rejected funding with funding from Elon Musk or another billionaire friends?
Source: Aljazeera
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