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While some Democrats have railed against President Donald Trump’s $200 million plan to remodel the White House ballroom, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., defended the investment in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“The plans are going to be done in a tasteful and historical kind of way,” Fetterman said. “They’re not putting in a Dave & Buster’s kind of situation here, so I think upgrading some of these facilities seems pretty normal.”
But Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., described Trump’s latest endeavor as anything but “normal.”
“The project at the White House is a gigantic boondoggle,” Blumenthal said. “The important question is not only the damage that it could do to the architecture of the White House, but also what contributors would have over Trump if they are giving to this project.”
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters last month that Trump and private donors will fund the estimated $200 million cost of the new ballroom.
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“Now, he is gonna be soliciting money from private contributors for this boondoggle, and the question is – what kind of influence and impact will those contributors have?” the Connecticut senator questioned.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Democrats’ criticism is “not surprising to anyone.”
“That is the essence of their party,” Cruz said. “They wake up animated by hatred for Trump and hatred for the American people that voted for him.”
The Texas senator said he is grateful for the “phenomenal project,” and accused Democrats of hating anything Trump does.
“A ballroom in the White House will be used by presidents, both Republicans and Democrats, and it’s being funded without a penny of taxpayer money,” Cruz said.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., however, acknowledged that the White House needs event space.
Leavitt said the president is unable to host major functions with world leaders without installing a “large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance.”
But Coons said that he doesn’t “know whether he actually has the authority to fundamentally alter the shape and scale of the White House without some White House Historical Association or some architect approving it.”
“The last time I checked there’s nothing in the law that says that,” Cruz fired back.
Coons also raised an issue with the project’s timeline. Leavitt said the renovations will begin in September and will be “completed long before the end of President Trump’s term.”
“My concern, given what I’ve heard so far, is that it wouldn’t be completed on his timeline, so that he will be the former president and whoever succeeds him will be stuck with what could be a white elephant,” Coons said.
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., added that the ballroom is very “Trumponian,” but affirmed that “he’s gonna do it right.”
“I’m glad they’re doing it with private dollars,” Marshall added. “I think it’ll be a great thing to add and put that Trump stamp on the White House.”
And Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., agreed, telling Fox News Digital that the new ballroom would be a great addition to the White House and celebrated that there would be “no cost to the taxpayer.”
Fox News Digital’s Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
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