A year and half in, Donald 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 is now up 200%, with more than $300 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, with construction continuing pending a final ruling, Trump is demanding taxpayers fork over funding even though a clear majority of Americans oppose Trump’s ballroom by a margin of nearly 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 they think there’s unlimited taxpayer money for lavish billionaire tax breaks and golden ballrooms. Working families could be getting so much more. Read all about what we could be spending $300 million on instead of Trump’s ballroom:
Trump’s $300 Million Price Tag For His Personal White House Ballroom Could:
- Buy 65.2 million free school lunches for lower-income K-12 students.
- Fund home heating and cooling cost assistance for more than 400,000 American families for a full year.
- Pay for a full year of SNAP food assistance benefits for more than 125,000 working people, low-income families, and disabled Americans.
- Replace nearly 64,000 lead pipes in the U.S. drinking water supply, protecting millions of families from lead poisoning and exposure.
- Nearly fully fund Preschool Development Grants to help families access quality, affordable care and early learning opportunities for their young children.
- …and much more.
HEADLINES
- Vox: You’re paying for Trump’s ballroom.
- USA Today: Trump’s ballroom costs $600 million. And we’re paying half.
- Washington Post: Records reveal $600M estimate for Trump’s ballroom project, with half from taxpayers.
- The Independent: Trump’s ballroom now set to cost $600 million – with half coming from taxpayers, new report reveals.
- Rolling Stone: Surprise! Taxpayers Were Always Going to Foot the Bill for Trump’s Ballroom, Records Reveal.
- Realtor.com: Trump’s White House Ballroom May Cost Taxpayers $300 Million After All, Leaked Projections Show.
- Fox News: Republicans question Trump’s ‘privately funded’ ballroom after report points to taxpayer burden.
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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.