As construction races ahead on a new White House ballroom, President Donald Trump on Wednesday described a venue where guests could enjoy cocktails before events, while boasting that the project also includes military-designed bomb shelters and other security enhancements buried five stories underground. "They get out of the car and they walk down this path ... and they can have cocktails and everything outside of the White House, and then they go into the ballroom," Trump told reporters during a surprise look at the helipad being constructed on the South Lawn. He continued, "Even the military, they can use it like that.
We have more of so much of a military component, with the drones and the bomb shelters and everything else that we have in there. The military came to see me and they said, 'Sir, we have an opportunity to do something incredible here.' ... That goes down five stories.
It goes down almost 65 feet." According to a filing submitted by the Trump administration to the Supreme Court, roughly 250 workers are laboring up to 20 hours a day on the project, which officials said is about two-thirds complete. A federal appeals court has ruled that Trump lacks the authority to move forward with the White House ballroom project on his own, ordering construction paused while Congress considers the proposal. The administration has countered that previous presidents made significant alterations to the White House complex without seeking congressional approval and argues Trump is acting within that longstanding tradition.
The Supreme Court has yet to indicate whether it will take up the president's appeal. Trump told reporters Wednesday, “I can’t imagine” the high court would rule against the ballroom he’s building after he was asked about a continuing court fight to block it. Hopefully we’ll do very well,” with the justices, Trump added.
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