The White House will resume public tours in early December, roughly six weeks after President Donald Trump ordered the historic East Wing be reduced to rubble so the site where it once stood could be used for his massive $300 million gilded ballroom.
According to the office of First Lady Melania Trump, tours will resume on Dec. 2 and will feature “an updated route offering guests the opportunity to experience the history and beauty of the People’s House.”
The first lady’s office also noted that tours conducted in December will feature the White House’s annual Christmas decorations on the State Floor, which will be “thoughtfully designed and curated” under her direction.
“Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the beloved annual tradition that transforms the White House into a festive reflection of the spirit, warmth, faith, and hope of the holiday season,” her office added.
News of the resumption of White House tours comes two months after the White House announced that the tours, which are arranged for visitors through members of Congress, would be suspended on account of the start of construction on the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom that has been championed by President Trump.
According to the White House Historical Association, thousands of visitors each year typically avail themselves of the tours, which focus on the State Floor containing famous spaces such as the State Dining Room, the East Room, as well as the Blue, Red and Yellow Oval Rooms.
Until this year, visitors arriving for tours and other public events usually entered the 18-acre White House complex through a visitor entrance and security screening facility leading to the East Wing, which in addition to the first lady’s office had housed the White House Military Office, the Office of Legislative Affairs, and other components of the Executive Office of the President.
But that all came to an end earlier this month when construction crews began tearing down the facade of the East Wing opposite the Treasury Department building to make way for the ballroom, which the president had previously claimed would “not interfere” with any current parts of the White House.
The demolition efforts quickly expanded to encompass the entire East Wing, which had been first built in 1902 and expanded four decades later to include a second floor above the original structure and a bunker, the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, built beneath it for then-president Franklin Roosevelt during the Second World War.
The first lady, who unlike her predecessors does not live at the White House full time, has not spoken publicly on the merits of her husband’s pet project.
But according to The Wall Street Journal, she privately “raised concerns” about the East Wing demolition and told friends that the ballroom construction, which has outraged Americans on both sides of the political aisle, “wasn’t her project.”
A recent Washington Post and ABC News poll showing a clear majority — 56 percent — opposing Trump’s decision to raze the East Wing and replace it with a ballroom.
A separate Economist-YouGov poll found similar results, with 25 percent supporting and 61 percent opposing the project, paid for by $300 million in private donations from American businesses and individuals including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Palantir, along with Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and former Olympic rowers turned crypto investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Lawmakers and some conservatives criticized Trump for moving forward without federal review, while the administration defended the project as a privately funded, much-needed expansion.
Others argue that Trump’s lavish ballroom renovation exemplifies glaringly misplaced priorities, advancing a costly personal project while millions face food insecurity amid the government shutdown.
Trump is appointing allies to boards overseeing the plan, which has grown from a $200 million, 650-person space to a $300 million, 1,000-person ballroom funded by some $350 million in private donations.
Officials are informally calling the planned event space “The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom,” ABC News reports. Though Trump has not confirmed a name, senior Trump officials told the outlet the name will “likely stick.”
The White House expects the ballroom project to be done well before 2029.
In a statement to The Independent, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said: “President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense. These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the People’s House.”
SNAP has provided grocery help for 60-plus years; here's how it works
Experts share eye-popping cost of Trump’s nuclear weapon testing
Trump quiets fears of US strikes in Venezuela — at least for now
President shuts down hope of trade talks with Canada after Reagan ad: live
Mike Johnson and the House stand in the way of any deal the Senate makes
What’s a filibuster and why does Trump want the Senate to end the practice?
