President Donald Trump has leaned hard into his real estate roots since returning to the White House, fashioning himself as Washington, DC’s developer-in-chief as he’s unilaterally launched an ambitious slate of construction, renovation and restoration projects across the nation’s capital.
From his now $1.4 billion White House ballroom (preceded by his decision to demolish the entire East Wing to help necessitate it) and 250-foot-tall Triumphal arch on the Potomac River to his Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool paint job, Trump is racing to leave a massive physical imprint on the capital that will endure long after he leaves office. Even the UFC octagon being erected on the South Lawn, a supposedly temporary installation that the president now hints could become permanent, has scant precedent in its scope and scale.
“I have two jobs,” the president has said in his second term, noting that in addition to being the U.S. commander-in-chief, “I have a construction job.” Indeed, on Wednesday, a day before his 500th day in office of the second term of his presidency, Trump spoke to reporters face to face for the first time in a week for an executive order signing — and took time out to launch into a personal attack on one CNN journalist. He went right in on the work he’s doing on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, producing a chart showing how much taller it would be if it were somehow standing on its end, and compared it to the tallest skyscrapers before running down all the other so-called public works projects he has underway.
Some Republicans have praised the president’s sudden side gig, latching on to his argument that the ballroom, in particular, is necessary for enhanced security. But the White House initially framed the grand construction as part of a broader push to beautify the city and impress foreign dignitaries. And that all factors into the price tag, since what was originally a $400 million ballroom whose construction was funded through private donations now includes an additional Trump ask for $1 billion in public funding for security.
Democrats, on the other hand, have accused Trump of skirting standard approval processes and squandering taxpayer funds on self-indulgent boondoggles.“At the very moment Americans are asking, ‘How do I make ends meet?’ Donald Trump is asking, ‘How do I get taxpayers to fund my vanity projects?’” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in blasting the buildout.
“Trump’s ego over your electric bill, Trump’s palace over your paycheck, Trump’s priorities over your family’s needs,” Schumer raged.
With that in mind, here is a scorecard, of sorts, of all the major work Trump has planned or already undertaken, thus far.
The centerpiece construction project of Trump’s second term is a massive White House ballroom, first announced in July 2025.
The president has argued the addition is long overdue, noting that large events with foreign dignitaries are currently held on the White House lawn with tents employed when the weather is lousy. His calls for it became even more pressing after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in April, raising more questions about the president’s safety.
Construction began late last year after Trump decided on his own to have the historic East Wing demolished, and Trump has said the project will be completed before he leaves office in early 2029. Recent renderings show a 90,000-square-foot floor plan, which would dwarf the main White House building.
The president initially said construction of the cavernous event space for up to 1,000 guests would be funded by $400 million in private donations. But the White House has more recently sought $1 billion in congressionally appropriated security funding. The funding measure was booted from a GOP-backed Senate bill on Wednesday.
Last month, a White House spokesperson called the ballroom an “amazing gift [Trump] is giving to the White House and generations of future presidents to come.”
But a YouGov poll found that 53 percent of Americans were opposed to tearing down the East Wing to erect the 1,000-person ballroom, while just 29 percent said they supported it. Some 47 percent of those polled believe Trump’s main motivation for creating the new space was “his legacy.”
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, a progressive Democratic firebrand and outspoken critic of Trump, told reporters in April that she remains opposed to the project.
“I don’t believe that in an era where they are jacking up prices on the American people, when they are gutting everyone’s health care, when people cannot afford to pay their rent and their mortgages, that we should be choosing our precious treasure, little treasure that we have in this country, to build an ornate castle on the a scale of which is quite unprecedented and unbelievable,” she said.
And even some Republicans have expressed concerns.
“The president’s promoting his $1 billion request for White House ‘security measures’ won’t convert voters,” veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove wrote in May. “Nor will bragging that ‘there will never be another building like this,’ especially with Americans upset about $5-a-gallon gasoline, which Mr. Trump dismissed as ‘peanuts.’”
Since his inauguration, Trump has made a range of additional changes to the 233-year-old White House.
Last summer, he paved over the iconic Rose Garden — established in 1913 by first lady Ellen Wilson — replacing its grass and flower beds with a patio where he now frequently hosts dinner events. The jarring makeover appears to have been inspired by the umbrella-lined pool deck at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
The former “Apprentice” star has also added gilded furnishings to the Oval Office, installed two large flagpoles on the White House lawn and created a “Presidential Walk of Fame” along the West Colonnade. The display features framed photos of past presidents with descriptive plaques, some of which criticize Trump’s Democratic predecessors — for instance instead of a photo of Joe Biden, he has hung an image meant to convey the “autopen” Trump often derides Biden for often having used to sign orders.
Last month, reports emerged that Trump may also construct a helipad on the South Lawn.
At the time, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told The Independent: “President Trump has continued to make improvements at the White House and all around D.C. to benefit future presidents and Americans.”
One of the largest proposed projects is a grand arch in the style of France’s Arc de Triomphe — but much taller — along the Potomac River, across from the Lincoln Memorial.
Trump first proposed the 250-foot-tall ivory structure in October as part of plans to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. But, when asked by a journalist who the monument was for, he replied: “Me — it’s going to be beautiful.”
Size aside, renderings resemble Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, depicting a winged figure at the top, four lion statues at the base and the inscription “One Nation Under God” emblazoned across the facade. Many have taken to calling it the “Arc de Trump.”
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