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Donald Trump announced this Friday that the controversial Ballroom he is building on the grounds of the White House will be inaugurated in September 2028, as he posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Its inauguration is scheduled for around September 2028," wrote the president, who added that the project "is currently under construction, ahead of the planned schedule, and will be the most magnificent facility of its kind in all of the United States."
Trump accompanied the announcement with an image of himself strolling through Beijing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping during the official trip that has just concluded, and used China as a point to defend the project: "China has a ballroom, and the United States should have one too!"
The project includes the construction of a hall of over 8,300 square meters in the space where the historic East Wing of the White House once stood, a structure built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and expanded in 1942.
The demolition of the East Wing began in October 2025 without authorization from Congress, which triggered an intense legal battle.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump exceeded his authority by demolishing the building without legislative approval. In March 2026, federal judge Richard Leon ordered a halt to the construction, stating that the president acts as the "administrator" of the White House and not as its owner.
However, an appeals court allowed the construction to continue on April 12, by suspending the block with a vote of two to one, leaving open the possibility that the case could escalate to the Supreme Court.
Numerous experts believe that the project harms a protected building by disrupting the architectural balance of the ensemble due to its large size, and they raise concerns regarding heritage, ethics, and functionality.
Financing is another point of controversy: although Trump initially stated that the hall would be funded entirely by private donations, a group of Republican senators—Lindsey Graham, Katie Britt, and Eric Schmitt—introduced a bill to allocate 400 million dollars of public funds for its construction, as part of a broader package of one billion for Secret Service security.
Legislative momentum intensified after the shooting on April 26 at the Correspondents' Dinner held at the Washington Hilton, when Trump demanded to speed up construction, citing security reasons.
Trump himself also revealed that beneath the hall, a military complex is being built with missile-resistant columns, anti-drone ceilings, bulletproof glass, and air raid shelters, describing the hall as "cover" for that infrastructure.
Democrats oppose the public funding bill, signaling a new legislative clash ahead of the scheduled inauguration date.
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