The White House is sharing an update on the controversial construction of the East Wing Ballroom.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino Jr., on Wednesday, Oct. 21, shared an aerial view of the East Wing as construction is underway on the ballroom, taken from Marine One. Scavino said the footage was captured while Trump was on his way to South Carolina to campaign for Sen. Darline Graham, R-South Carolina, as the country heads into a tightening Senate race in the midterm elections.
Footage shared by Scavino shows scaffolding around the ballroom as Marine One flies over the White House lawn. See it in the video above.
The East Wing is just one part of a series of projects that could change Washington, D.C., from the appearance of its most recognizable landmarks to the future of historic public spaces and cultural institutions.
Ballroom to be paid for by private funds
President Donald Trump‘s 20,000-square-foot White House ballroom is part of a 90,000-square-foot renovation of the East Wing, which will also include a new office for the first lady and a movie theater. The ballroom comes with a price tag of $400 million, paid for by private funds, and is expected to accommodate about 1,000 people.
Trump told reporters in August that he would name the wealthy donors and corporations that have contributed to the ballroom within the next couple of weeks but that he was checking with them first. A list has not yet been released.
“Most of them have said you could use my name gladly,” he had said. “No taxpayer money for the ballroom at all.”
Ballroom faces legal blockades
However, the ballroom has faced a slew of legal challenges since its start, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation challenging the ballroom and alleging it had not gone through a legally mandated review process.
While a federal appeals court blocked the ballroom in a 2-1 vote on Aug. 7, saying that above-ground construction could not proceed without congressional approval, on Aug. 31, the Supreme Court cleared the way to continue construction.
Acting on an emergency appeal from Trump’s administration, the top court ruled 5-4 that a federal judge wrongly paused the project until a legal fight could be resolved. In an unsigned opinion, a majority of the justices said the administration is likely to win its argument that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the plaintiff in the pending lawsuit, cannot show sufficient, direct harm.
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires reviews of projects that affect historic buildings, exempts the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol.
Trump emphasized security concerns
The administration, in its arguments supporting the ballroom, has heavily emphasized security concerns, including Trump’s reference to the structure as a “military center.”
“The Project is critical for ensuring that the White House can serve as a secure location for the gathering of the President, gathering of senior government officials, and gatherings that further the interests of the United States,” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told the Supreme Court in the appeal.
The president, whose background is in real estate, has made several changes in the White House, including replacing the Rose Garden lawn with a paved patio and gilding the Oval Office.
Contributing: Mike Stunson, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Maureen Groppe / USA TODAY NETWORK
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House shares aerial footage of progress on ballroom
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