The House Oversight Committee is investigating President Donald Trump’s $200 million, 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) said Thursday, raising questions about its funding and construction.
Garcia told MeidasTouch the committee is probing whether foreign governments contributed to the gold‑plated project, among other concerns.
“Even if there were donations being made to build some of this,” Garcia said, “that monstrosity shouldn’t be there in the first place. Who’s involved? Are foreign governments paying for it?"
He continued: "Oversight is already working on getting those answers and investigating what’s happening at the White House with this construction, because it’s outrageous.”
According to a recent report, YouTube donated $22 million of its $24 million settlement with Trump over account suspension to the ballroom project.
In the same interview, Garcia and Meiselas discussed Trump’s repeated claim that the U.S. has received “$17 trillion of investment” since the start of his second term. That claim is widely dismissed as false, since it would imply a huge and unexplained jump in GDP.
“If there is $17 trillion somewhere, the government doesn’t know about it,” Garcia said.
“None of our committees have access to it. Treasury has no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He’s either lying, or he’s somehow stashed away money in some magical way, which would mean even more corruption.”
The interview drew attention from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), whose press office reposted it with the caption:
“Trump has claimed $17 trillion has come in during his first 9 months! Yet, he’s shutdown the government! Either the money is missing. Or he’s misleading the American people!”