Washington Examiner, May 2026
President Donald Trump is forging ahead with a sweeping overhaul of the White House and the nation’s capital that allies hail as beautification and critics say is costly and unnecessary. Undeterred by criticism of his plans to construct a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in place of the White House’s East Wing and to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue, Trump is now poised to add a helipad to the South Lawn. “President Trump has continued to make improvements at the White House and all around D.C. to benefit future presidents and Americans,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Washington Examiner.
