It added that the structure would be able to seat 650 people, a "significant increase" on the 200-seated capacity of the East Room in the main residence.The East Room is the primary space in the White House for official ceremonies and events and was used to host King Charles' state banquet in April. But larger events in recent years, such as French President Emmanuel Macron's state dinner in 2022 that had more than 300 guests, have been hosted in temporary tent structures built on the White House's south lawn.The administration said the ballroom's construction would start later that year and be completed "long before" the end of Trump's second term in January 2029.Trump later told reporters the ballroom "won't interfere with the current building… It'll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building".But when Trump posted on Truth Social in October that "ground has been broken" at the White House, he said the East Wing, which had housed dozens of rooms including the First Lady's office, was "being fully modernized" as part of the building process.After the diggers moved in, the entire East Wing - which had stood for more than 120 years - and the hallway connecting it to the main White House building were flattened within a couple of days.How have the plans changed?The public plans for the building have changed dramatically since then. The latest iteration, revealed by Trump on Truth Social in April, suggests the site could now feature bomb shelters, an underground state-of-the-art hospital and medical facilities, "top secret" military facilities, and a rooftop drone landing space.A recent satellite image shows the extent of the excavations for the underground section, which the president has said will be three-storeys deep.Trump has increasingly mentioned the security features of the ballroom - with at least 10 posts on Truth Social mentioning it so far this year, as opposed to zero last year.His emphasis on the issue ramped up after the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in April."It's much more secure...
It's drone proof, it's [got] bulletproof glass. That's why Secret Service, that's why the military are demanding it," he said in a press conference at the White House immediately after the shooting.Trump says the roof of the new ballroom will be missile-proof, and recently shared an AI-generated image of a "DronePort" that he claims will "safe-guard Washington DC long into the future".Truth SocialBBC Verify asked the White House how the plans and purpose of the ballroom had changed since it was first announced - it said they hadn't.How has the cost of the ballroom changed?Trump has repeatedly claimed the ballroom, which was originally expected to cost $200m (£150m), will be built at "zero cost" to taxpayers because it will be funded by himself and through private donations.But in May, Republicans requested funding for a $1bn (£745m) security package which reportedly included $220m (£165m) tied to the new ballroom specifically.It was rejected by Congress and eventually dropped, but a separate $400m Republican-backed security bill linked to the ballroom is ongoing. Senator Lindsey Graham, the bill's co-sponsor, has said this would be paid for by charges on goods and travellers entering the US.The White House initially said that the Secret Service "will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications" but it did not share further details.The direct construction cost estimates have also doubled over the last year.BBC Verify has identified and analysed 35 Truth Social posts by Trump about the ballroom since June 2025, some of which mention costs varying from $200m, to $300, and most recently $400m.Speaking to reporters outside the construction site in May, Trump said: "We're right on budget, we're right on plan, the only budget change would be that we doubled the size at the request of the military."BBC V
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