00:00I do have one other announcement from the White House and from the president.
00:04We are proud to announce that the construction of the new White House ballroom will begin.
00:09For 150 years, presidents, administrations, and White House staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex
00:16that can hold substantially more guests than currently allowed.
00:20President Trump has expressed his commitment to solving this problem on behalf of future administrations and the American people.
00:26The White House is one of the most beautiful and historic buildings in the world.
00:31Yet the White House is currently unable to host major functions, honoring world leaders in other countries,
00:37without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building's entrance.
00:44The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet
00:51of innately designed and carefully crafted space with a seated capacity of 650 people,
00:58which is a significant increase from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House.
01:04In recent weeks, President Trump has held several meetings with members of the White House staff,
01:09the National Park Service, the White House Military Office, and the United States Secret Service
01:14to discuss design features and planning.
01:17President Trump has chosen McCreary Architects as the lead architect,
01:22which is well-known for their classical architectural design and based right here in our nation's capital.
01:27The construction team will be headed by Clark Construction,
01:31and the engineering team will be led by ACOM.
01:34The project will begin in September 2025,
01:37and it is expected to be completed long before the end of President Trump's term.
01:42President Trump and other donors have generously committed to donating the funds necessary
01:48to build this approximately $200 million structure.
01:52The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications.
01:58The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House,
02:02but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical.
02:07The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed,
02:11and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.
02:14The East Wing was constructed in 1902 and has been renovated and changed many times,
02:18with a second story added in 1942.
02:22White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles has provided the following statement.
02:26President Trump is a builder at heart and has an extraordinary eye for detail.
02:30The President and the Trump White House are fully committed to working with the appropriate organizations
02:35to preserve the special history of the White House while building a beautiful ballroom
02:40that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come.
02:45In the White House, we will continue to provide the American public and all of you in the press
02:50with updates on this project at whitehouse.gov slash visit.
02:54And if you go there shortly, you will be able to see renderings and visuals of what this ballroom will look like,
02:59both the exterior and the interior.
03:01I have provided some photos for all of you in the room today.
03:04This is the interior of the ballroom space.
03:07It's quite beautiful.
03:08And then this is the exterior of the ballroom space.
03:12As you can see, it will come off of the Executive Mansion as it sits today,
03:15and the East Wing will be modernized and renovated.
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