On the Truth Social platform, Trump explained that the initial estimate assumed a sum of around $200 million, but the project was expanded because the original version turned out to be too small to organize “necessary events, meetings, and even future inaugurations.” The president assured that the final budget would not exceed USD 400 million.
– This was a necessary change, introduced a long time ago, but the fake news (media) did not report it, trying to create the impression of budget overruns – Trump accused the media.
Donald Trump's post
Donald Trump responds to media reports regarding the ballroom
The entry was a direct response to CNN's material, which pointed out that the construction cost declared by Trump had doubled compared to the original estimates. The station also recalled that the president himself accused the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, of “incompetence, corruption or both” due to exceeding the assumed costs of renovating the central bank buildings by 30 percent.
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Although Trump assured that the construction would be financed by private donors, Republicans in Congress included provisions in the bill to combat illegal immigration allocating $1 billion for “security improvements related to the project to modernize the East Wing” of the White House.
Legal doubts have also arisen around the investment. A federal court in Washington initially halted construction due to lack of congressional approval, but an appeals court overturned that decision, allowing work to continue despite the ongoing proceedings.
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The project returned to public debate in April after the attempted assassination of the president during a journalist's gala at the Washington Hilton hotel. Trump and his supporters argue that this attack shows the need to build their own facility at the White House – if the building was already functioning, the incident would not have occurred due to better security of the entrances.
Critics respond that the planned facility will be smaller than the Hilton hall and would probably not accommodate such an event.
