Trump administration staff presented plans for the US$400-million White House ballroom renovation on Thursday, including blueprints for a possible second-storey addition to the West Wing.
The plan, presented to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which oversees federal building construction, proposes an approximately 89,000-square-foot project that would include the 22,000-square-foot ballroom, seating 1,000 guests.
The hearing was the first time detailed plans for the ballroom were presented and discussed in public.
Trump, who last year demolished the East Wing, which contained the offices of the first lady and a movie theatre, had at one point floated a ballroom that could fit 1,300 people.
According to Reuters, the project’s head architect, Shalom Baranes, said the president’s team was not exploring increasing the scale of the build.
A mock-up of the White House’s new 90,000-square-foot ballroom, set to be completed before U.S. President Donald Trump’s current term ends in early 2029.
The White House
The new East Wing will also include a two-storey colonnade connecting the White House’s East Room to the new ballroom.
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Baranes said the administration was also considering a one-storey addition to the West Wing colonnade “to restore a sense of symmetry” to the overall White House complex, so it matches the two-storey East Wing.
Opponents of the project have previously raised concerns that the new part of the White House could overshadow the main mansion, and have questioned its legality. But a federal judge, while hearing a lawsuit alleging the reconstruction amounts to an abuse of presidential power, chose not to halt construction.
Trump’s aides have said they did not need approval for the demolition but are seeking permission for the new build.
When asked by one of the commissioners at Thursday’s meeting whether the ballroom’s height could be reduced, Baranes said it was “not impossible.”
The NCPC is chaired by Will Scharf, Trump’s White House staff secretary. He opened the meeting by saying the public will have a chance to comment on the project at a later meeting.
A couple of commissioners raised concerns about the project’s size, but most were supportive of the plans, including Scharf.
“I think it’s notable that when the president of the United States of America flies to the United Kingdom, he’s hosted at Windsor Castle,” Scharf said. “When next year the king … comes to the United States, more likely than not he will be hosted … in a tent on the South Lawn with portapotties.”
It is customary for U.S. presidents to host large state dinners in tents on the White House lawn.
Josh Fisher, the director of management and administration at the White House, said at the presentation that aging roofing, water damage, outdated electrical wiring and other factors made the demolition and reconstruction of the East Wing the most cost-effective strategy.
Demolition continues on the East Wing of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a ballroom.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Before the East Wing was torn down, the Trump administration insisted that the new ballroom would not encroach on the existing mansion. An announcement in July 2025 says the ballroom will be “substantially separated from the main building of the White House.”
Demolition had already begun by the time the administration confirmed in October that the entire East Wing was being torn down.
— With files from Reuters
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