 "Trump goes shopping for marble for new White House ballroom")
US President Donald Trump went shopping for marble, which will be used in the new White House ballroom, as he goes ahead with his controversial East Wing renovation.
Earlier this week, the president made a stop at Arc Stone & Tile, a stone importer near Mar-a-Lago, before heading to the Trump International Golf Club. A White House official told CNN that Trump planned to buy marble and onyx from the Italian marble specialist.
The purchase, the official said, would be paid for personally by Trump and marks the latest indication of the president’s deep involvement in a project that would significantly reshape the White House grounds and leave a lasting personal mark on the nation’s most iconic address.
How much is the project costing?
Trump had earlier said that the ‘big, beautiful ballroom’ project would cost $200 million, adding that the construction would not affect the existing White House structure. But now, the president says that the project will cost $400 million.
“We’re donating a $400 million ballroom. I think I’ll do it for less, but it’s 400. I should do it for less, I will do it for less. But just in case, I say 400,” Trump said last month.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit in December, saying that the White House did not seek the necessary reviews before demolishing the East Wing in October.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has told US District Judge Richard Leon that it will meet with the non-profit preservation group and the Commission of Fine Arts to review plans for the ballroom.
Quick Reads
View AllThe group had asked a federal group to order the halt of construction of the ballroom, pitched as a “much-needed and exquisite addition”. It says rebuilding should only be allowed after the White House “complies with the law by going through the legally mandated review processes”.
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