Two House Democrats are taking aim at the Trump administration over newly released photographs showing that the White House ballroom currently under construction is significantly larger than the executive residence itself.
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina and Rep. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky voiced their frustration on social media this week, using the images to argue that the project reveals misplaced priorities.
“I hope everyone takes a good hard look at this picture,” Clyburn wrote Wednesday evening on X. “Trump’s under-construction ballroom is now bigger than the rest of the White House. Much bigger.”
The South Carolina lawmaker added, “The contrast says everything you need to know about this President and his priorities.”
The image included in Clyburn’s post shows the ballroom’s construction zone towering over the executive residence. Similar photographs taken Tuesday by an Associated Press photographer appeared to match the images shared by Clyburn and McGarvey.
McGarvey echoed Clyburn’s criticism in a Thursday post featuring the same photograph. “This is what Trump is doing while millions of Americans can’t afford rent,” he wrote.
The ballroom is one of several renovation projects President Trump has pursued at the White House. It has been the subject of litigation throughout the year, as the president fought conservation groups over the demolition of the East Wing to make way for the 90,000-square-foot structure on the White House campus.
The administration has contended that the construction is necessary for national security, while the National Trust for Historic Preservation has argued that the project exceeds Trump’s authority. The dispute has drawn attention from those tracking Trump’s branding of federal properties.
At a press conference shortly after the midterm elections, Trump signed the final beam in the ballroom’s construction zone, flanked by workers and other officials. He called the ballroom “the most powerful building structurally … they say ever built and it was designed that way so the president can have safety.”
“It’s been the dream of presidents to have a ballroom for 150 years,” Trump continued. The event was part of his broader effort to showcase the ballroom after the midterms.
The president initially said the addition would cost $400 million and be funded entirely by private donors. But a Washington Post report from late August suggested the cost could balloon to $600 million, with some of the funds allegedly needing to come from taxpayers.
The backlash from Clyburn and McGarvey comes as Democrats continue to hammer Republicans over economic priorities, a theme that has fueled Democratic momentum on healthcare and other kitchen-table issues. The ballroom controversy adds to a growing list of grievances Democrats are using to frame the 2026 midterm elections.
