Trump Again Claims Taxpayers Aren't On The Hook For Ballroom—But

President Donald Trump on Saturday hailed his ongoing White House ballroom project—after the Supreme Court temporarily allowed building work to continue on Friday—as ahead of schedule, under budget and completely privately funded despite an estimate from the project's contractor that asserted taxpayers are footing more than half of the $600 million bill. Trump on Friday stated he was "grateful" for the Supreme Court's decision, which temporarily blocked a court order against building work, and on Saturday earlier today bragged about the progress on the 90,000-square-foot White House addition.

He said "tremendous work has been done" and promised the project, which he has repeatedly said will cost $400 million, “will be paid for with ZERO Dollars of Taxpayer Money,” adding “ Great American Patriots and Companies are footing the entire bill,” he said. The contractor overseeing the work, however, informed the White House earlier this year the building work will cost $600 million and more than half of it will come from taxpayers, the Washington Post reported.

Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

The Post's reporting claimed the White House knew "the work was projected to rely heavily on taxpayer dollars from the moment it was announced," including more than a dozen already-approved payments to Clark Construction totaling tens of millions of dollars in public funds. Trump in July 2025 confirmed he would build a massive addition to the White House to serve as an event space capable of seating 650 people, reportedly complete with bomb shelters and major medical facilities.

The addition is significantly larger than the entire existing White House, which was 55,000-square-feet at the time of the announcement, before Trump had the East Wing torn down to make way for the project. The project has drawn widespread criticism and prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to sue the White House, alleging the Trump administration doesn’t have the authority to build the ballroom without Congressional approval.

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Several orders have been delivered in the legal action to suspend building work while litigation is pending, but various appeals and lower court court orders have allowed it to continue. The Trust has contended allowing building work to go on risks the Trump administration being able to “outrun judicial review” and reach a point where the ballroom building work is too far along to be paused, but the Trump administration has contended stopping building work could jeopardize national security and puts the uncompleted structure at risk of collapse.

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

That's how much of the project has already been completed, the White House has stated in recent court filings. The Supreme Court’s Friday decision allows building work on the ballroom to continue “pending further order” from the court. Chief Justice John Roberts did not give any indication as to when a more permanent decision could be confirmed.

Who is actually paying for the ballroom. When it was first confirmed, Trump stated it would cost $200 million but that estimate has since—at least—doubled. Trump has stated private donations from contributors like Amazon, Apple, Meta, Coinbase and Lockheed Martin will be routed through a nonprofit to cover the addition’s entire cost.

At other times, he’s stated the Secret Service and the military will contribute security enhancements, without elaborating on the price of those upgrades, per the Post. Other communications have suggested over $100 million will come from taxpayers through the Secret Service and the White House Military Office.