by Washington The Oval Office’s gold décor came first. Then, before erecting a new flagpole in front of the White House, President Donald Trump took his Mar-a-Lago style to the Rose Garden.
Trump is now announcing plans to build a grand ballroom off the East Wing, a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot project that would be one of the biggest historic architectural improvements in decades.
Trump anticipates finishing the project before he leaves office, but it raises numerous concerns regarding possible conflicts of interest and the project’s viability. Although they would not provide specifics, White House officials stated that the president and other benefactors would cover the cost of the improvements.
Trump has upended the federal bureaucracy, reshaped the business sector and the arts, and attempted to reshape institutions in his image through broad policy reforms during his six months in office. However, the president, a former real estate developer, also wants to leave his mark on the White House’s architecture in order to solidify his legacy.
Trump declared on Thursday that we are skilled builders. I’m skilled at construction, and we’ll finish it promptly. The top of the line will be stunning.
According to a White House statement, the administration would be able to conduct events for roughly 650 people thanks to the 90,000-square-foot ballroom renovation, which would more than triple the capacity of the East chamber, the building’s largest chamber.
According to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the government intends to start building in September and complete the project before the conclusion of Trump’s tenure.
Trump said that officials would no longer have to set up a big tent on the White House South Lawn in order to host sizable gatherings for global leaders and other visitors thanks to the new ballroom. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said the renovation would be one of the biggest projects on the White House grounds since President Harry Truman built the West Wing.
According to Brinkley, he has been aiming to be viewed as the builder president so that whoever ends up in the White House in the future would be in the Trump auditorium. If this ballroom’s design is done effectively, it could be a bonus; however, if it’s done in an absurdly extravagant, gold-plate style, it’s just a mirror of Trump.
White House photos show that the government is imagining a ballroom that would look like one of the spaces of Trump’s Florida home and club, Mar-a-Lago. In one picture, dozens of tables were arranged in a ballroom with golden chandeliers and seats.
Trump claimed he was committed to upholding the White House’s honor and customs.
According to Leavitt, the White House ballroom’s theme and architectural legacy will be nearly the same despite its significant separation from the White House’s main structure.
Leavitt claimed the renovation would be funded by Trump and other benefactors. For the project, the administration has selected AECOM, Clark Construction, and McCrery Architects.
Trump has the right to pursue the construction project, according to historians and government ethics experts, but they also expressed worries about how Trump recruited the companies for the extension and how the additional ballroom would be paid for.
When asked if they had created a competitive contracting procedure for the project, White House representatives did not answer.
Another important factor is when the initiative was announced. A week ago, Trump took advantage of a large-scale Federal Reserve remodeling project to update two buildings, one of which was constructed in 1935 and the other in 1932. Trump has accused Jerome Powell, the chair of the central bank, of poor management by focusing on the project’s high cost of roughly $2.5 billion.
According to ethical experts, the president is currently working on modifications that would open the door for donors hoping to curry favor with the White House.
Richard W. Painter, the chief ethics lawyer in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush, stated that people will write checks if they want to be liked by the president. It is really a continuation of the pay-to-play issue that has plagued our government for many years.
Additionally, Painter expressed his worry that Trump and succeeding administrations might be able to invite their donors to the White House if the building’s capacity were increased.
According to Painter, everything is set up for a highly transactional approach.
Trump’s wish list would be fulfilled if the ballroom were built. In his 2015 biography, former White House senior adviser David Axelrod, who served under Obama, said that Trump had offered to construct a new ballroom for the White House.
In an interview, Axelrod added an expletive that he claimed Trump used: “You have these state dinners in little tents.” “I build ballrooms,” he says. I construct the world’s most exquisite ballrooms. To witness it for yourself, you can travel to Florida. Allow me to construct a modular ballroom for you to put together and disassemble.
According to Axelrod, Trump’s offer was not pursued by the Obama administration.
According to Axelrod, he has had this idea for a while.
Noting that he had never heard a foreign leader gripe about a state dinner, Axelrod questioned the need for the proposed expansion.
It’s uncertain exactly how much the White House’s East Wing will change.
According to Leavitt, the ballroom will be constructed on the site of the East Wing. She responded that the East Wing would be updated when asked if the project called for demolishing that area of the White House to make place for the new ballroom.
However, some government employees will have to relocate as a result of the project, at least temporarily.
Many employees would have to leave the East Wing during the renovations, according to Leavitt. This comprises the first lady Melania Trump’s office, the White House military office, and the visitor’s offices.
The New York Times was the first publication of this article.
