On board Air Force One as he flew back to Washington on Sunday evening, President Donald Trump said the White House ballroom under construction is "ahead of schedule and under budget," and shared fresh renderings of the design as he defended the broader project.
The undertaking required demolition of the White House East Wing and has drawn legal and political pushback. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit alleging that the administration avoided required review processes and bypassed public input. A federal judge is scheduled to decide by the end of March whether to grant an injunction that would pause work on the ballroom while the litigation proceeds.
When asked by reporters about progress, the president reiterated that work is going well. "Were doing very well, so were ahead of schedule," he said during the flight after spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Officials have not provided a fixed completion date for the ballroom, though the White House has indicated it will be finished "long before the end" of the presidents term.
Describing the facility in robust terms, the president characterized the ballroom as a "shed" that sits above a "massive" military complex being built beneath the structure. He also detailed planned security features, saying the ballroom will be fitted with "high-grade, bullet-proof" glass and will include a roof designed to resist drones.
"Unfortunately were living in an age where that is a good thing," the president said, explaining the rationale for those protections.
Trump has previously asserted that the entire $400 million cost of the ballroom project would be covered by private donations. The project forms part of his wider efforts to alter the layout and use of spaces in Washington.
Note: This account reflects statements and developments as presented by the administration and the legal filings referenced; no new schedule or additional financial details have been provided beyond those noted.