President Trump's ballroom and bunker project will likely cost taxpayers about $300 million despite his past comments that it would be entirely funded by private donors, the Washington Post reported.
The outlet noted that the administration had already been given an estimate that the project would cost $600 million, with half of that coming from taxpayers, when Trump told reporters on March 31 that the project would be "taxpayer-free" and that "we have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents."
Trump also underplayed the cost in March, saying the entire project would be $400 million, even though the administration already knew the cost was project at $600 million, the Washington Post added.
Trump first announced the ballroom project in July 2025. "There's never been a president that was good at ballrooms," he said. "I'm good at building things, and we'll get it built quickly and on time. It'll be beautiful."
At the time, the president assured that he would also maintain the character of the White House.
By October, work crews had begun demolishing the historic East Wing of the White House.
"I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom," Trump said on his Truth Social network. Trump added that the East Wing was being "fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!"
An April ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found the project was unpopular with most Americans. The poll found 56 percent of U.S. adults opposed the demolition of the East Wing to make way for the ballroom. Only 28 percent supported the project with another 15 percent being undecided on the issue.
Despite the White House saying the project would be paid through private donations, the Washington Post reported that project summaries paint a different picture.
The newspaper reported that the work was repeatedly projected to rely on tax dollars from the start. The newspaper reported that the White House did not answer its questions regarding taxpayer dollars going to the project.
"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," White House spokesman Davis Ingle wrote in a statement to the Washington Post.
According to the Post, construction summaries indicate that plans were to use Secret Service dollars for the project. In fact, Secret Service dollars were used in the demolition of the East Wing. The newspaper reported that a White House lawyer wrote in a July 30 email the importance of connecting the "project more closely to security-related issues since USSS [U.S. Secret Service] is providing the funding."
