Trump’s White House Ballroom May Cost Taxpayers $300 Million After All, Leaked Projections Show

A leaked report claims that the construction of the White House ballroom championed by President Donald Trump is expected to cost $600 million—$200 million over earlier estimates—with taxpayers footing more than half the bill.

Trump initially estimated the cost of the ballroom project at $200 million, before doubling it months later. He also has repeatedly claimed that the construction will be fully funded by private sources.

"This is taxpayer-free," Trump told reporters during a March 31 Oval Office briefing. "We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents."

However, a cost estimate produced weeks earlier by Clark Construction, the Virginia-based company hired to build the ballroom in place of the demolished East Wing, informed the Trump Administration that the venue's price tag will be $600 million, The Washington Post reported after obtaining the leaked documents. 

The contractor reportedly informed the White House that 51% of the total cost, or roughly $307 million, will be split between the U.S. Secret Service, the White House Military Office, and the Executive Residence, all funded by taxpayer dollars.

Meanwhile, the remaining 48%, or $293 million, was projected to come from unspecified "private sources."

A list of donors who have helped to fund the ballroom was released by the White House in October 2025, with major tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft all contributing to the project.

By the time Trump made his public comments touting the ballroom as "taxpayer-free," his government had already signed off on more than a dozen payments to the contractor totalling tens of millions of dollars in public funds, reported The Post, citing company invoices.

The 90,000-square-foot construction project got underway in October 2025, with the Trump Administration framing it as a national security priority.

The push to complete the project was further intensified following the arrest of a suspected would-be assassin at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April.

After claiming that the ballroom will be funded "100% by me and some friends of mine," Trump in May conceded that some aspects of the project related to security would be paid for by taxpayers. 

"They have a budget in Secret Service and the military to do some of the work that you see right here," said the president while touring the construction site.

At the same time, he insisted that the ballroom "is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer. This is a gift to the United States of America."

In April, a federal judge ruling in a lawsuit filed by a preservation group allowed construction to resume on a security bunker beneath the former East Wing site but blocked further work on the above-ground  ballroom pending congressional approval. 

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote in his opinion that the Trump Administration's argument that the entire project was necessary for national security was "to say the least, incredible, if not disingenuous."

Earlier this month, Senate Republicans proposed legislation that would have earmarked $400 million in public funding for the ballroom and the White House security infrastructure. However, Democrats and seven of their colleagues across the aisle joined forces to defeat the measure. 

"President Trump indicated that the ballroom was going to be built with private donations," said Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who voted against the funding bill. "I think that’s the commitment that should be kept."

In a statement to Realtor.com® Tuesday, White House spokesman Davis Ingle reiterated that "the East Wing Modernization Project is inextricably tied to the security of the president, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets."

While Ingle did not directly address the leaked report, he noted that the press release announcing the ballroom project "highlighted coordination with the White House Military Office and the United States Secret Service regarding design features and planning."

"President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for presidents for generations to come," added the spokesman.