{"id":2596333,"date":"2026-04-28T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backs-rand-pauls-bill-to-build-white-house-ballroom\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T17:55:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T21:55:33","slug":"trump-backs-rand-pauls-bill-to-build-white-house-ballroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-backs-rand-pauls-bill-to-build-white-house-ballroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump backs Rand Paul&#8217;s bill to build White House ballroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-backs-rand-pauls-bill-to-build-white-house-ballroom%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2596333&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump is appearing to back away from offers from what the article describes as reliable allies and instead is supporting a proposal from Sen. Rand Paul to expedite construction of a White House ballroom.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Sens.lindsey Graham, Katie Britt, and Eric Schmitt announced they would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-remember-the-48th-annual-march-for-life\/\" title=\"Americans remember the 48th annual March for Life\">introduce legislation<\/a> directing $400 million in federal funds to the project, despite Trump\u2019s repeated claim that it would be financed privately. The White House did not initially say whether Trump supported the Graham-Britt-Schmitt measure, and an official said Trump had not been briefed on it.<\/p>\n<p>Later Tuesday, Trump reposted Paul\u2019s statement outlining Paul\u2019s own bill, which Paul says would move the project forward without <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sen-romney-white-house-covid-funding-request-was-not-transparent\/\" title=\".... Romney: ... COVID funding request was not transparent\">additional taxpayer money<\/a> by allowing Congress to expedite review of major White House projects. White House officials also reiterated that the ballroom\u2019s security plans are designed to be highly advanced.<\/p>\n<p>The article notes that lawmakers across the GOP have argued the ballroom is necessary for national security after a Saturday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amnesty-international-strips-aleksei-navalny-of-prisoner-of-conscience-status-for-decades-old-comments-on-immigration\/\" title=\"Amnesty International Strips Aleksei Navalny Of \u2018Prisoner Of Conscience\u2019 Status For Decades-Old Comments On Immigration\">assassination attempt<\/a> at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner. However, White House officials said the attack did not change the existing blueprint or security measures for the ballroom.<\/p>\n<p>It also describes how Trump\u2019s ballroom plans have expanded in size and cost since last year, including demolition of the White House East Wing for the new building and a projected cost of about $300-$400 million. Although many companies have reportedly donated to the effort, Trump critics have <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >continued pursuing legal action<\/a> to halt construction, including a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Justice Department has responded by seeking to lift a court order blocking construction, dismissing the preservation group\u2019s arguments and accusing it of being driven by irrational opposition.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4545608\/trump-iran-state-of-collapse\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> appears to be rejecting offers from reliable allies and is instead lining up behind a bill from frequent critic Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rand-paul\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"230\">Rand Paul<\/a> (R-KY) to expedite the construction of his White House ballroom.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) announced plans to introduce <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4545203\/lindsey-graham-bill-trump-white-house-ballroom\/\">legislation<\/a> that would funnel $400 million in federal funds toward Trump\u2019s ballroom, despite the president\u2019s frequent reassurances that the construction project would be entirely privately funded. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4544103\/melania-trump-queen-camilia-education-white-house\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Melania Trump and Queen Camilla tour technology-in-education event at the White House<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4545927\/bullets-flying-one-direction-guy-benson\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>\u2018Bullets seem to be flying in one direction\u2019: Guy Benson<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4545855\/transcript-trump-speech-king-charles-iii-state-visit\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>READ IN FULL: Trump\u2019s speech welcoming King Charles III on state visit<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" type=\"category\" id=\"125\">White House<\/a> declined to say if the president supported the measure, with one senior White House official telling the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> Tuesday that, to their knowledge, Trump had not been briefed on the proposal.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But Tuesday afternoon, Trump himself reposted a statement from Paul, whom the president routinely attacks for voting against his agenda, announcing plans to put forward his own ballroom bill that maintained the president\u2019s private funding pledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Chairman of [the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee] &#038; a member of the National Capitol Planning Commission, I\u2019ve reviewed &#038; supported the new White House ballroom,\u201d Paul wrote in the statement Trump shared. \u201cMy bill moves the project forward without extra taxpayer funds &#038; ensures Congress can expedite review of major White House projects.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe safety and security plans of the Ballroom are going to be the most state of the art and most secure Ballroom facility anywhere in the world, regardless of the events that took place at the WHCD,\u201d a White House spokesperson wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>The offices of Graham, Britt, and Schmitt declined to comment on Trump\u2019s apparent support of Paul\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Republican lawmakers have been quick to echo Trump\u2019s claims that the ballroom is an essential national security project in the wake of Saturday\u2019s\u00a0assassination attempt\u00a0at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner, though White House officials additionally told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that Saturday\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4544508\/white-house-blames-left-wing-culture-of-hatred-for-correspondents-dinner-assassination-attempt\/\">attack<\/a> has not altered the ballroom\u2019s existing blueprint or security measures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m building a safe ballroom, and one of the reasons I\u2019m building it is exactly what happened last night,\u201d the president stated during a Sunday interview on <em>60 Minutes<\/em>. \u201cAnd that ballroom\u2019s being built on the safest piece of property in this country \u2014 probably one of the safest pieces of land in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starting last year, Trump\u2019s plans for the White House ballroom have steadily grown, both in terms of the structure\u2019s planned footprint and total cost. Despite his original plans, Trump demolished the White House\u2019s East Wing last year to make way for the new building, which will also feature a below-ground security bunker. The president most recently estimated that the project will cost somewhere between $300 million and $400 million. So far, roughly 40 firms have donated to the project, including Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Coinbase, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir, and Ripple Labs.<\/p>\n<p>The White House declined Tuesday to say how much has been raised for the project, though officials say that fundraising is being headed by the Trust for the National Mall.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Trump critics have resorted to the legal system to seek to halt construction, including a lawsuit filed late last year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The trust rejected the Justice Department\u2019s weekend request to drop the lawsuit in light of the WHCA dinner attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are not planning to voluntarily dismiss our lawsuit, which endangers no one and which respectfully asks the Administration to follow the law,\u201d National Trust President and CEO Carol Quillen said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department responded in kind Monday evening with another filing pressing a federal judge to lift the order halting ballroom construction, accusing the National Trust of suffering from \u201cTrump Derangement Syndrome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4544437\/white-house-ca-dinner-shooting-make-or-break-kash-patel\/\"><strong>WHCA DINNER SHOOTING BECOMES \u2018MAKE OR BREAK\u2019 FOR KASH PATEL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2018The National Trust for Historic Preservation\u2019 is a beautiful name, but even their name is FAKE because when they add the words \u2018in the United States\u2019 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like a Government Agency, which it is not,\u201d acting Attorney General Todd Blanche <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4545521\/doj-rip-preservation-group-white-house-ballroom-lawsuit-tds\/\">wrote in the motion<\/a>. \u201cAfter the Saturday night attempted assassination, which could have never taken place in the new facility, reasonable minds can no longer differ \u2014 The injunction must be dissolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSaturday\u2019s narrow miss \u2014\u00a0which marks the third assassination attempt on President Trump since 2024 \u2014 confirms what should have been obvious: Presidents need a secure space for large events, that currently does not exist in Washington, D.C., and this court\u2019s injunction stalling this Project cannot defensibly continue, for the sake of the safety of President Trump, future Presidents, and their families, Cabinets, and staff,\u201d Blanche argued.<\/p>\n<p><em>Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump backs Rand Paul\u2019s bill to speed White House ballroom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2645,"featured_media":2596336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-bt29cc0kf-1777410706654-e1777411292542.jpg?1777396887&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[4762,5894,38952,3634,32127],"class_list":["post-2596333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-legislation","tag-politics","tag-rand-paul","tag-trump","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-collage-bt29cc0kf-1777410706654-e1777411292542.jpg?1777396887&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2596333"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2596338,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2596333\/revisions\/2596338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2596336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2596333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2596333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2596333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}