The New White House Ballroom—What to Know

Construction has begun on a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom that will seat between 650 and 1,000 people.

The change will require major changes to the East Wing of the White House and will be funded by President Donald Trump and other donors.

Here is what we know so far about the project.

White House Announcement

Construction on the project began in September, after the Trump administration announced the new project on July 31.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that for more than 100 years, staff and occupants have “longed for a large event space on the White House complex that can hold substantially more guests than currently allowed.”

A briefing from the administration cites the constraints of the current event facilities at the White House, saying that presidents are “currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders and other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building entrance.”

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said that Trump and administration staff are “fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations to preserve 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.”

Building Specifications

The new ballroom will add about 90,000 total square feet to the current building and seat at least 650 people. This will be a big change from the current 200-person capacity of the East Room of the White House.

The building will be designed by McCrery Architects, a group lauded by the White House as being known for its “classical architectural design and based in our nation’s capital.”

CEO Jim McCrery commented on the project, saying: “Presidents in the modern era have faced challenges hosting major events at the White House because it has been untouched since President Harry Truman.

“I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The People’s House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance.”

Clark Construction, based in McLean, Virginia, will head up the building, and AECOM, which is a multinational infrastructure consulting firm based in Dallas, will lead the engineering team.

The new construction is expected to cost about $300 million, which will be funded by private donations.

Thus far, part of the cost, about $22 million, has already been allocated to the construction from the settlement of a 2021 lawsuit Trump brought against YouTube, a subsidiary of Google.

Trump is also said to be contributing to the construction project, although details of how much have yet to be released by the White House. 

The East Wing

The ballroom will be added where the East Wing of the White House currently sits. That wing was constructed in 1902 and then renovated to add a second story in 1942.

The East Wing has long been considered the social portion of the White House and is on East Executive Avenue, across from the Treasury Department. Tourists and guests enter through that area for events.

According to current plans, there will be more extensive demolition of the East Wing than was initially projected. When asked why, the president said it is because architects have determined that there is “not much left from the original [East Wing].”

The president made his comments at the Oval Office on Oct. 22, saying that “certain areas” of the wing will be left, but that after “a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world,” it was determined that knocking down a large portion of it would be most advantageous.

The ballroom will be separated from the main building of the White House, but the administration has stated that the theme and architecture will be “almost identical.”

The East Room is slated to become a space for guests to mingle and have refreshments before entering the ballroom for dinner, and changes will be made to create a passageway to and from the ballroom to support that plan.

“I think it’ll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

Concerns About Change

Demolition for the project began on Oct. 20. The White House said on Oct. 21 that it would submit plans for the project to the National Capital Planning Commission, which is a body that oversees federal building construction.

There are some questions about jurisdiction over a project of this kind, since the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 often requires a review of projects that affect historic buildings.

However, there is a carve-out for the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court, as well as their grounds.

Despite this exception, the National Trust for Historic Preservation asked the president on Oct. 21 to pause any demolition of the East Wing until the planning commission reviews the plans.

The letter from the group expresses concern that the ballroom might “overwhelm” the White House, which will have a smaller footprint.

“We acknowledge the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House, but we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself—it is 55,000 square feet—and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” the letter states.

The group stated that it “respectfully” urges the administration to pause the demolition to “provide an essential opportunity for transparency and public engagement.”

Trump’s Changes

The White House stated that the project will be completed “long before the end of President Trump’s term.”

The press secretary said that Trump is “committed to solving this problem on behalf of future administrations and the American people.” The White House announcement states that the under-construction ballroom will be a “much-needed and exquisite addition.”

Trump has already made decor changes to the Oval Office and paved portions of the Rose Garden since taking office in January.