Trump has spent his second term fixated on vanity projects. His crown jewel? Demolishing the East Wing and flattening the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden to replace it with a ballroom that would tower over the rest of the White House and cost hundreds of millions. First, the ballroom was supposed to be a $200 million addition funded by private donations. Its price tag went up 50%, then up to $400 million, funded by taxpayer dollars instead. As Trump flouted preservationists and demolished the historic wing, dumping the rubble at a nearby public golf course and filling it with pollution and toxic metals, his cronies got slammed with a court order demanding an immediate halt to above-ground work. Now, Trump and Republicans in Congress are demanding taxpayers fork over a mind-boggling $1 billion to fund “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the project – even though a clear majority of Americans oppose Trump’s ballroom by a margin of 2-to-1. The sheer grift is staggering: Trump and his allies were all-too-eager to rip away health care funding, public school funding, food assistance, and more – but think there’s unlimited taxpayer money for lavish billionaire tax breaks and golden ballrooms. Working families could be getting so much more. Read more about what we could be spending $1 billion on instead of Trump’s ballroom:
Trump’s $1 Billion Price Tag For His Personal White House Ballroom Could:
- Buy 217.3 million free school lunches for lower-income K-12 students.
- Fund home heating and cooling cost assistance for around 1.5 American families for a full year.
- Eliminate waiting lists for WIC food assistance to infants and pregnant women.
- Pay for a full year of SNAP food assistance benefits for more than 415,000 working people, low-income families, and disabled Americans.
- Replace over 212,000 lead pipes in the U.S. drinking water supply, protecting millions of families from lead poisoning and exposure.
HEADLINES
- The New Republic: Republicans Demand Mind-Blowing $1 Billion for Trump’s Ballroom
- The Daily Beast: Republicans Make Jaw-Dropping $1B Demand for Trump’s Ballroom
- MS NOW: Republicans want to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money on Trump’s $400 million ballroom
- Alternet: Outrage explodes after GOP allocates $1 billion for Trump’s ballroom
- Fox News: Once touted as privately funded, Republicans sneak in taxpayer cash for Trump’s ballroom project
- The Washington Post: GOP offers $1B for White House security, sparking dispute over ballroom
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For the 2025–2026 school year, the USDA is reimbursing schools participating in the National School Lunch Program at a rate of $4.60 per free lunch served.
For FY 2024, the USDA paid $2,393.29 per participant for a year’s worth of SNAP food assistance benefits.