Last October, the sight of demolition crews using backhoes to tear down the east side of the White House was so dramatic that it suddenly became a tourist attraction. President Donald Trump, who bills himself as the “builder-in-chief,” isn’t done yet.
The White House will spend $377 million on renovations and repairs to the presidential residence this year, according to the president’s budget released Friday. And that’s not all—it’s projecting another $174 million for fiscal year 2027. This would be an 866% increase over the estimated $39 million spent on White House maintenance in fiscal year 2025.
The money comes mostly from donors, the Office of Management and Budget official said fate.
In October, the White House released a list of 37 donors who are funding East Wing renovations, including major tech companies such as Meta Platform, Apple, Google and Amazon. There were also several individual or family donors, including the Adelson Family Foundation, the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, and cryptocurrency billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
The budget does not specify which projects to invest in, but an official from the Office of Management and Budget said. fate That money will cover all maintenance, renovation, construction, and security costs. These figures represent money already in government accounts, not requests from Congress for more money, the official said — these are new requests for Congress to approve, like many other parts of the budget, a record-breaking request for $1.5 trillion in military spending for next year.
In a January filing as part of a lawsuit against the National Park Service brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, White House Director of Management and Administration Joshua Fisher wrote that there are plans to fix water intrusion, update aging electrical infrastructure, comply with Americans with Disabilities Act, and remove asbestos and lead-based paint. “Pursuant to the NPS’s gift authority, donated funds received by the NPS have been transferred to the White House Maintenance and Restoration Account pursuant to the Economy Act,” Fisher wrote in the filing, “to fund this project and appropriate the annual allowance for the Executive Mansion,” which is $2 million for fiscal years 2620 and 2620 million.
Last year, Trump replaced the Rose Garden lawn — a space that has been used for decades for bill signings, press conferences, and formal dinners — with a stone patio for events. At an event in September, Trump called the renovated space a “Rose Garden Club,” a place for senators, congressmen and the people of Washington and, frankly, people who can bring peace and success to our country.
He also planned to host tech executives at the space in September, many of whom run companies that later donated to the ballroom project, but the event was moved inside because of the weather.
About $350 million of the estimated $377 million is considered mandated spending, a designation used by Congress to fund legislation such as Medicare and Social Security instead of annual appropriations. Private, tax-deductible donations were placed in the National Park Service Gift Account, which is a mandatory account, according to an OMB official, and is not subject to annual congressional appropriations.
The ballroom is the most prominent project announced. Trump has repeatedly said taxpayers won’t foot the $400 million bill to renovate the 90,000-square-foot ballroom. When plans for the ballroom were announced in July, the president said it would cost half the price.
“I am honored to be the first president to finally get this much-needed project on time and on budget,” Trump said on social media on April 2.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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