GOP leader confirms taxpayers on the hook for Trump's ballooning $600M ballroom

Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged on Tuesday that taxpayers will help foot the bill for President Donald Trump's 600 million White House ballroom.Trump has promised since July 2025 that the project would cost taxpayers nothing. The Washington Post reported Tuesday that internal contractor documents tell a different story.Thune, speaking at a Capitol press conference, didn't dispute it.I do believe that there is certainly some expectation that there would be dollars allocated for that purpose that would go above and beyond the private money that's been raised, he said.There are important security requirements that go with any building project in the White House, Thune continued. We want to make sure that any additions made down there are completed in a way that ensures that the president and others in his administration are safe and secure.The Post obtained contractor documents showing a March 5 estimate from Clark Construction put the project at 600 million.The taxpayer share breaks down to 155 million from the Secret Service, 149 million from the White House Military Office, and 3 million from the Executive Residence — 307 million in public funds in total.Three weeks after Clark delivered that figure, Trump told Oval Office reporters: This is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents.White House spokesman Davis Ingle pushed back Tuesday, saying Trump and donors are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately 400 million.Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was among six Republicans who voted during a Senate floor session to require congressional approval before any public or private money could fund the ballroom. She said Trump's original commitment should hold.President Trump indicated that the ballroom was going to be built with private donations, Collins said. He should keep to that commitment.Three independent contracting experts who reviewed the documents told The Post the costs can't be cleanly separated.I think it's inevitable that it bleeds over. It's one structure, said Stan Soloway, a former Pentagon acquisition official and board chair at the National Academy of Public Administration.