Trump's $400M White House Ballroom: Greenlit, Criticized

0:00It's April 2nd. This is Adelaide News today. Your AI-powered local news. Washington's planning folks just greenlit President Trump's $400 million White House ballroom project on Thursday, even after a judge slammed the brakes two days earlier, saying it needs Congress to sign off first. This 90,000-square-foot addition to the East Wing is pitched as a privately-funded gem that will define his legacy. The National Capital Planning Commission, led by Trump's former lawyer William Sharf, called it the latest evolution in over two centuries of white. House tweaks to fit modern needs. Sharf says it'll soon rank as a national treasure right up there with the classics. Critics like DC Council Chair Phil Mendelssohn are mying it, blasting the rushed demolition of the old East Wing before full plans or size debates. He questions the massive scale, lack of security analysis, and why it couldn't be smaller. This fits Trump's bigger DC makeover, including a 250-foot arch, Kennedy Center upgrades,

1:02a revamped rose garden, and fresh gold touches. In the Oval Office, a preservation group sued, claiming he overstepped by bulldozing history. The Justice Department fired back with an appeal against the judge's halt, so expect more legal twists as this ballroom battle heats up in the nation's core.