President Donald J. Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi deliver remarks in the the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, March 19, 2026.
President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom was controversial from the moment it was announced, given that the president ignored the legal process for making historic building renovations and just destroyed the historic East Wing without permission. Yet a new report from The New York Times revealed that the ballroom is also being built ineptly.
“The hurried reviews, with construction cranes already swiveling above the White House grounds, are an abrupt departure from how new monuments, museums and even modest renovations have been designed and refined in the capital for decades,” wrote Emily Badger, Junho Lee and Larry Buchanan of The Times. In addition to ignoring the proper legal process, the reporters noted that there are many seemingly serious structural problems emerging in the building because its construction has been so rushed.
“In the sprint to complete it before the end of his term, the addition appears to have compressed the normal design evolution for any project,” the Times wrote. “As recently as October, the president was still increasing the ballroom’s capacity, the kind of decision needed at the concept stage. And the White House has said it plans to begin building in the spring, a timeline that would mean construction documents would have to be prepared even as the design was still under review.”
The Times added, “Before a judge demanded in December that the project seek review by these two commissions, the administration appeared poised to skip them entirely.”
“The timeline never made any sense to me,” Thomas Gallas, a former member of the planning commission, told The Times. He added that buildings on this scale usually take engineers 18 months to two years from original conception to the completion of construction documents.
When Trump first announced that he was destroying the East Wing to build a ballroom, the White House received over 9,000 pages of public comments — and “there were barely any supportive missives.” The comments included observations like "complete DISASTER,” "NO GAUDY FAKE GOLD STUFF ALL OVER THE PLACE,” “no one wants to be in an adjunct building in a large crowd with lengthened security protocols,” an “eyesore,” an “abomination” and “appalling.” One D.C. preservationist, Alison Hoagland, argued that “constructing a ballroom is possible, but it should be deferential to the White House, not overwhelming." Even a Republican congressman, Rep. Michael Turner of Ohio, spoke out in protest.
"The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were deeply disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation's history," Turner wrote. Similarly a former Republican congressman, Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois, referred to Trump as a “jackass” for doing this.
"This jack—— in the f—— White House is destroying a permanent structure that can't come back," Walsh said. "He can't do this on his own! There's a rigorous, rigorous process to mess with the restructuring, structural changes of the White House, and he just blows right through all of that!"
When asked about Trump’s changes to the White House, a spokesperson defended the president in unctuous terms.
"Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, the White House will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for generations to come," White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told PEOPLE in a statement.
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