White House Suspends Tours For Ballroom Construction

WASHINGTON — The White House is suspending nationalist tours because of the building of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom initiated by President Donald Trump, a White House charismatic said.

The charismatic did not supply a timeline for erstwhile tours would resume, saying only that nan suspension is temporary,

Constituents tin typically petition White House tours done their members of Congress, and respective members stated connected their websites that White House tours were paused.

The pause, first reported by Fox News, marks nan largest nationalist effect truthful acold from nan building project, which nan White House announced past month. The suspension comes conscionable months aft tours resumed during nan Trump management successful precocious February. Thousands of group sojourn nan White House each year, according to nan White House Historical Association.

The agency of Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said connected his website that it could not taxable circuit requests starting successful September "due to ongoing building astatine nan White House."

Similarly, nan agency of Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., said connected its tract that starting successful September, "the White House will beryllium undergoing extended renovations. As a result, each tours of nan White House are postponed indefinitely."

Other offices, including Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md; Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.; and Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill.; opportunity connected their websites that nan White House is pausing tours starting successful September but do not supply a reason.

"Seriously?" Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said successful a station to X. "School trips. Families. All unopen retired indefinitely for nan building of a ballroom?"

The White House announced successful July that nan White House would commencement building connected nan ballroom successful September. Press caput Karoline Leavitt said astatine nan clip that anterior administrations besides wanted a ample arena space, and that "President Trump has expressed his committedness to solving this problem connected behalf of early administrations and nan American people."

Trump has reshaped nan White House decor successful his first respective months backmost successful office, adorning nan Oval Office successful golden decor and installing a patio successful nan Rose Garden. But nan ballroom description marks nan biggest alteration to nan historical building.

Trump has said that nan ballroom — which Leavitt said will costs $200 cardinal — would beryllium funded by himself and different donors.