Trump's new ballroom is larger, more expensive and closer to fruition

President Donald Trump sent finalized plans of his new White House ballroom – "a great, big, beautiful gift to the United States of America!" Trump says – to a federal commission on Feb. 13, bringing his signature project another step closer to reality.

The ballroom, one of the most controversial undertakings in the history of the nation's capital, is part of the 90,000-square-foot "New East Wing" that will be added to the White House.

At that size, the wing will be about 5,000 square feet smaller than the Executive Mansion and the West Wing combined. The ballroom itself is estimated at about 22,000 square feet.

Trump announced his ballroom project in July 2025. Here's what changed since then:

• Construction cost estimates rose three times, to $400 million from $200 million.
• 350 seats were added.
• The East Wing was demolished.
• The project's chief architect was replaced and later added by Trump to a federal board that will review ballroom plans for approval.

Here's what the new East Wing project will look like – and what has happened with it so far.

How big is the new ballroom?

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This before/after slider shows what the East Wing footprint looked like before it was demolished to make room for the new addition. The building will contain the ballroom, offices for the first lady and staff, and a movie theater.

Timeline of changes in ballroom costs, seating

• Feb. 5, 2025: Trump says that he offered to build a new White House ballroom for the Biden administration and that it would cost about $100 million. “I offered to do it,” he said. “And I never heard back.”
• July 9: Trump appoints three panelists of the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, one of two federal organizations that will later review the ballroom plans.
• July 31: The White House announces construction of a 650-seat ballroom will begin in September. The cost is listed at $200 million. McCrery Architects will be the lead designer.
• Sept. 19: Trump says the ballroom will cost $250 million.
• Oct. 15: Trump says the ballroom will seat up to 999 people.
• Oct. 20: Demolition of the East Wing begins.
• Oct. 21: Trump says the ballroom will cost $300 million.
• Oct. 23: East Wing demolition is completed.
• Oct. 28: Trump fires the six sitting commissioners of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the second of two federal organizations that will review ballroom plans.
• Dec. 4: Shalom Baranes Associates is named ballroom designer, replacing James McCrery, the architect who initially worked on the project.
• Dec. 12: The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit group, files suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to halt construction. No ruling has been made.
• Dec. 17: Trump says the ballroom will cost $400 million.
• Jan. 8, 2026: “East Wing Modernization Project” is presented at an informational meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission.
• Jan. 16: Multiple news sources report Trump has appointed new members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. One of them is architect James McCrery. The appointments give the commission a quorum, which allows commissioners to meet and review ballroom plans.
• Feb. 10: On Truth Social, Trump says the ballroom is “on budget and ahead of schedule.”
• Feb 13: Trump sends finalized plans to the National Capital Planning Commission.
• Feb. 19: The Commission of Fine Arts, a seven-member panel whose members were all appointed by Trump in January, approves the ballroom plan with a 6-0 vote. McCrery abstains from voting.
• March 5: National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to review the ballroom plan.

Who is paying for the ballroom?

The White House has not published an official roster of donors for the ballroom, but it did release a list of donors to news organizations on Oct. 23, 2025. Here is the list as reported by PBS, The Hill and NBC News:

How does the ballroom's seating capacity compare?

What planning organizations have a say in the ballroom?

• National Capital Planning Commission: The federal government's central planning agency for Washington, DC, and one of two agencies that will review ballroom plans.
• U.S. Commission of Fine Arts: A federal agency that advises the president and Congress about the arts and architectural development in the district. It's the second of two agencies that will review ballroom plans.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation: A nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to preserve and protect significant American historical sites.
• The Trust for the National Mall: A nonprofit organization that is managing the $400 million in donations for the project.

What's the status of the ballroom lawsuit?

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed suit against Trump and several federal agencies in December, asking to halt ballroom construction. The non-profit group argued that Trump should have sought Congress's authorization before demolishing the East Wing.

Trump’s lawyers said the president did not need approval from lawmakers because the project is not using taxpayer dollars and instead is being funded by private donations.

A federal judge declined to stop construction, saying that the the preservationists failed to meet a high bar to halt the project for now, but said he was willing to reconsider and allowed the group to amend their complaint.

CONTRIBUTING Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Bart James

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; worldarchitects.com; whitehouse.org; architectmagazine.com; commonedge.org