President Donald Trump has touted his new ballroom project.
At a military Mother’s Day event at the White House, Trump used the opportunity to tout his new ballroom project in the East Wing of the White House, saying, “We’re a little bit ahead of schedule, right on budget, but it’s going to be something great.” Trump told attendees in the East Room, “It’ll be one of the most beautiful buildings of its kind anywhere in the world.”
“Aside from being secure, I think it’s going to be the most beautiful ballroom I’ve ever built. And it’s something that the White House has needed.”
Donald Trump
Trump disclosed earlier on social media that the ballroom project comes with a $400m price tag.
In the post, Trump asserted that the White House Ballroom is going up rapidly on the East side of the White House, adding that the only reason the cost has changed is because, “after deep rooted studies, it is approximately twice the size, and a far higher quality, than the original proposal, which would not have been adequate to handle the necessary events, meetings, and even future inaugurations.”
“The original price was 200 Million Dollars, the double sized, highest quality completed project will be something less than 400 Million Dollars. It will be magnificent, safe, and secure! This was a necessary change, it was done long ago, but the Fake News failed to report it, trying to make it look like there was a cost overrun. Actually, it is coming in ahead of schedule, and under budget!”
Donald Trump
Earlier this week, Senate Republicans released the text of a new immigration enforcement reconciliation package that includes a proposed $1bn that could go to security measures related to the ballroom, part of the President’s “East Wing modernization project.”
The funding package text does not say how much of the new Secret Service funds provided by taxpayers will pay for the ballroom.
The bill allocates $1 billion for Secret Service “enhancements” related to the East Wing project, including “above-ground and below-ground security features.” A spokesperson for Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said the bill “does not fund ballroom construction.”
Republican lawmakers pushed for legislation to fund and expedite construction of a ballroom days after an alleged gunman was apprehended at last month’s White House Correspondents’ dinner, where Trump was set to speak.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told a news agency in a statement that the legislative branch “has rightly recognized the needs for these funds.” “The White House applauds Congress’s latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernization Project,” Ingle said.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin criticized the move as providing funds for a Trump “vanity project” while Americans are struggling to make ends meet.
When unveiling the plan last year, Trump described the ballroom as a “gift” funded by private donors, saying “not one penny” of federal funds would be used.
Trump Says Situation In Iran Under Control
Also at the White House event, Trump said the situation in Iran is “very much under control.”
He claimed, at the military Mother’s Day event, that Tehran wants to “make a deal very much”, while noting the ongoing naval blockade in the strait of Hormuz is “unbelievable.”
“[Iran is] not getting anything through one way or the other, so they’re out of business. We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing, and if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter.”
Donald Trump
His remarks come after he told the regime in a post on Truth Social to accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
Trump expressed optimism that the Iran war “will be at an end” and the strait of Hormuz “open to all” if Iran agrees to the US’s truce proposal.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Donald Trump
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