A detailed contractor estimate obtained by the Washington Post reveals the total cost of destruction/construction of the East Wing ballroom/bunker is $600 million, and more than half of that total is coming from the taxpayers.
“This is taxpayer-free. We have no taxpayer putting up 10 cents,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on March 31, describing the project as including bomb shelters and major medical facilities.
Three weeks before Trump’s comments above, a project summary from Clark Construction showed Trump lied, and from conception the project has relied heavily on taxpayer funds.
Records obtained by the Washington Post reveal that since last June, the administration and the construction company have worked hand-in-hand to determine the scope and cost of the ballroom/bunker.
Trump initially said the project would cost $200 million and did not mention any bunker.
Since announcing the project last July, Trump has repeatedly said the project would not exceed $400 million and would come from private donations. He has also admitted that the Secret Service and the military would contribute security enhancements, but never added the cost of those “enhancements.”
By October 20, on demolition day, records showed that Clark Construction expected the project to cost $478 million, with half coming from taxpayers.
By March, Clark had informed the White House that the projected cost had increased to $600 million. A project summary dated March 5 shows that nearly half of that, $293 million, was expected to come from “private sources.” The estimate said an additional $155 million would come from the Secret Service, $149 million from the White House Military Office and $3 million from the Executive Residence, all sources funded by taxpayers.
In May Trump was explaining that all parts of the project were intertwined, but noted that “the government” would pay for parts of the structure.
“They have a budget in Secret Service and the military to do some of the work that you see right here,” Trump said. The ballroom itself, he said, “is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer. This is a gift to the United States of America.”