President Donald Trump’s plan to have private donors fund his new $400 million White House ballroom could cost him the entire project, as a federal judge will soon decide whether the administration can rely on fundraising to bypass congressional approval.
U.S. District Judge Ricard Leon says he may rule this month on a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in December to stop construction of the ballroom, according to Washington Post.
Trump has argued that using private donations to pay for the project is up to taxpayers, but critics say the plan highlights a lack of transparency about how the expansion is being financed.
Democrats and watchdog groups have raised questions about the arrangement, which relies on donations from large corporations and businesses. The donations are then routed through a nonprofit middleman, who also profits after receiving millions of dollars in fees, according to Post.
The Trump administration has already found a long list of donors, including Big Tech giants Amazon, Apple, Google, HP and Microsoft, as well as other well-known companies such as Coinbase, Lockheed Martin, Palantir Technologies and T-Mobile.
A federal judge will soon decide whether President Donald Trump’s administration is allowed to rely on private donations to fund its new $400 million ballroom expansion, according to a report (Getty Images)
Trump previously said using donations to fund the project prevented taxpayers from footing the bill (AFP via Getty Images)
Most donors declined to say how much they gave. However, the watchdog group CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) says at least 22 companies involved in the project did not disclose their donations in lobbying filings.
During a hearing for the lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in January, Leon shared his reservations about proceeding without congressional approval. He also questioned whether Trump had the statutory power to tear down the East Wing and build a ballroom in its place without explicit congressional oversight or authorization.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, is urging the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit that manages donations for the project, to clarify its role and share information about the donations it has received.
The organization declined to provide details Post about gifts, but said it collects 2 to 2.5 percent of each donation as part of an administration fee. A spokesman said the charge was standard practice.
The White House declined to say how much money has been raised for the project, which has doubled in cost from its original estimate of $200 million last summer.
Shortly after plans for the ballroom were announced, the East Wing was demolished without a public review process. (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“President Trump is generously donating his time and resources to build a beautiful ballroom at the White House, a project past presidents only dreamed of,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle. “Since announcing this historic plan, the White House has been inundated with calls from generous Americans and American companies wanting to contribute.”
In October, Trump hosted an opulent gala dinner for some of his sponsors in the East Room of the White House — which coincided with the longest government shutdown in US history, lasting 43 days.
Shortly after plans to replace the east wing with a new ballroom were announced, demolition began without an extensive public review process. The ballroom is designed to be approximately 90,000 square feet, and the attached “New East Wing” complex will include a new office for the First Lady, a movie theater and a commercial kitchen.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review — not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, not anyone else,” the lawsuit filed in December said.
However, in December, Leon refused to immediately halt construction on the project, and Trump’s Justice Department is moving to make sure that doesn’t change.
Trump was sued in December by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which challenges the legality of the project (Getty Images)
A DOJ filing asked a federal judge overseeing the trial to suspend any construction orders because of alleged “national security” concerns, ABC News reported.
“[A]As the Secret Service has testified, stopping construction would endanger the president and others who live and work at the White House,” the administration claims in the filing.
The Trump administration said it would also submit a second classified statement from the Secret Service to support its argument that halting construction at the site “would endanger national security and therefore harm the public interest.”
The filing claims that leaving the project incomplete would be a national security risk. The DOJ filing comes after Judge Leon made it clear for the first time that he is skeptical of Trump’s claim that he could use private donations to fund the ballroom’s construction.