House Democrats Send Letter to Trump at What Remains of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Demanding Stop to Reckless Vanity Project
Source: MEDIAite
Oct 30th, 2025, 5:27 pm
A group of sixty House Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday — addressed to “What Remains of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave” — demanding that his “reckless vanity project” halt “until the president can demonstrate how his demolition of the East Wing complies with federal law.”
The ballroom has been a pet project for the president, who boasted last month that it would be “absolutely magnificent construction” and “one of the best anywhere in the world,” but it has sparked significant controversy.
Trump has said the ballroom will be funded by private donors, but the specifics remain murky and the endeavor has raised ethical questions about conflicts of interest. The skyrocketing cost is also raising eyebrows; over the past few months the estimated figure has leapt from $200 million to $300 million. Opponents of the project object to the lack of review and question why the plans were not submitted before work began.
What critics find most troubling, however, is the expansive nature of the plans and Trump’s broken promise that the construction “won’t interfere with the current building” and would be “near [the East Wing] but not touching it.” Photos and video from earlier this month showed construction crews had gone well beyond “interfering” with the East Wing; the façade was demolished and then an additional major section. Eventually, the East Wing was demolished in its entirety.
Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump/house-democrats-send-letter-to-trump-at-what-remains-of-1600-pennsylvania-ave-demanding-stop-to-reckless-vanity-project/
Full headline: House Democrats Send Letter to Trump at ‘What Remains of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave’ Demanding Stop to ‘Reckless Vanity Project’
Link to Rep. Raskin PRESS RELEASE - Raskin, Colleagues Question Trump White House Ballroom’s Compliance with Federal Law
Link to LETTER (PDF) - https://raskin.house.gov/_cache/files/5/6/5677cb30-9829-450b-9bcd-4dfc99977778/827186427801991AE45DE88CDFB29A4B6DF9221F9B97D27CE1D10BEE9DDC8E7C.letter-to-president-re-white-house-ballroom-construction.pdf