Trump administration awarded US$500 million contract without bidding to build a ballroom at the White House, says newspaper

Donald Trump demolishes entire wing of the White House to make 'ballroom'
The Trump administration awarded a no-bid contract worth up to US$500 million for the construction of the new White House ballroom, according to the American newspaper "The Washington Post".
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In a report released this Tuesday (30), the Post states that, according to a report to which the newspaper had access, the contract was awarded through Executive Residence, an office that is exempt from rules that require federal agencies to seek competitive bids and publicly disclose details of contracted services.
Also according to the report, the contract was awarded to Virginia-based Clark Construction, which charged a 3% profit margin for initial work on the East Wing, and United States President Donald Trump was directly linked to the negotiations.
Donald Trump shows images of the ballroom project of the White House ballroom, aboard Air Force One, on March 29, 2026
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
The controversial ballroom that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is building in the White House will still take almost two and a half years to be completed.
The information was given by Trump himself on May 15, who announced that the work will end in September 2028:
"(The ballroom) is under construction, ahead of schedule, and it will be the best facility of its kind in the entire US. China has a ballroom, and the United States should have one too!" In October, Trump ordered the demolition of a wing for construction, and, since then, the courts have banned the work, but the US government managed to overturn the decisions. The project includes a kind of underground bunker resistant to all types of weapons.
Last week, Trump also revealed that the salon will be more expensive than the initially estimated value and should have an estimated cost of around US$400 million (around R$1.95 billion).
The value is double that initially estimated for the controversial construction, which has been attracting criticism precisely due to its high cost (read more below).
"The only reason for the change in cost is that, after in-depth studies, the new hall is approximately twice the size and of much higher quality than the original proposal", said the US president in a post on his social network Truth Social.
In the post, Trump argued that the initial price would not cover adequate space "to accommodate events, meetings and even future presidential inaugurations". "The final project, twice the size and of the highest quality, will cost less than 400 million dollars. It will be magnificent, safe and secure!"
Later, in a speech at the White House, he further argued that he will put in windows
"I generally put in glass about a quarter of an inch thick. The one in the ballroom will be about six inches thick. That can repel a lot of different types of weapons," he said. "In addition to being safe, I think it will be the most beautiful ballroom I've ever built
The American also said that the ballroom "is being built quickly."
SANDRA COHEN: Trump pushes the envelope by promoting his controversial ballroom, after a failed assassination attempt
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Source: G1