White House suspends public tours for ballroom construction

Public tours of the White House have been suspended indefinitely due to planned construction of a new ballroom President Donald Trump expects to begin building next month.

The administration has canceled all September tours and is not accepting new requests, according to congressional offices and a White House email to tour coordinators. Members of Congress cited reasons including “scheduled construction,” “extensive renovations” and “construction of President Trump’s new ballroom," Caliber.Az reports via Washington Post. 

The $200 million project, announced on July 31, would add a 90,000-square-foot ballroom—one of the biggest changes to the White House in a century. Trump has said the space is needed to host larger gatherings of world leaders.

“The largest room at the White House seats 200 people, while the proposed ballroom would seat more than three times that,” he said, promising to rely on private donations and “write a check” himself if necessary. He pledged to release the names of donors.

The White House normally opens tours 90 days in advance, but stopped offering new dates in mid-July without explanation. In mid-August, previously scheduled tours for September were canceled.

“Unfortunately, the White House has canceled and is no longer accepting tour requests for the month of September due to the construction of a new ballroom on the White House grounds,” read one congressional message to constituents.

Deanna Moberg of Washington state, whose family had planned a September 3 tour, received confirmation in June, only to be notified of its cancellation on August 14.

“I was disappointed,” she said, adding that her family now plans to visit the White House Historical Association’s “The People’s House” exhibit. “

The nation was kind of blindsided by that,” she added. “It’s the People’s House, and construction of a ballroom kind of came out of nowhere.”

Long-term suspensions of White House tours are unusual. They were halted for years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and for shorter periods during budget disputes. The moratorium comes just six months after tours resumed under the new administration.

At the time, First Lady Melania Trump said: “The President and I are excited to reopen the White House to those interested in the extraordinary story of this iconic and beautiful landmark.”

By Sabina Mammadli