Government Shutdown While the White House is Being Renovated: Who is Paying for Trump's $300 Million "Private Banquet Hall"?

While the U.S. government is on the verge of a shutdown, excavators at the White House East Wing are roaring day and night.

U.S. President Trump personally approved this massive demolition operation—not for national security, nor to "make America great again," but to build a privately funded 80,000-square-foot banquet hall next to the White House.

A Ceremony of "Tear Down and Rebuild"

The White House East Wing, built in 1942, was originally the symbolic entrance of institution and power: the First Lady's office, the White House Military Office, and the Social Secretary's office were all located in that understated yet solemn building. For decades, it was the first door countless visitors stepped through into the center of American power. Now, that door has been temporarily closed. Last month, the White House announced an indefinite suspension of all public tours, citing construction of the banquet hall as the reason.

As early as this August, Trump proposed building a new banquet hall at the White House. At the time, he stated the new hall would be "adjacent to but not touching" the existing structure. By October 22, he personally confirmed in the Oval Office: "To do this job properly, we must demolish the existing structure," because after consulting with architects, it was found that demolishing the entire East Wing would be more effective than partial demolition. Otherwise, it would compromise the "very, very expensive and beautiful building" that is the new banquet hall. As he spoke, a model of the White House sat on the table in front of him, and he held a rendering of the White House banquet hall in his hand.

Thus, the originally planned new banquet hall, which was to accommodate 650 people, was eventually expanded to hold nearly a thousand, and the cost rose from the initial $200 million to "around" $300 million. A White House spokesperson stated that the East Wing as a whole will ultimately be "modernized and rebuilt."

Where Does the Money Come From?

This is not a federal budget expenditure, but a "private crowdfunding." Trump stated that the $300 million cost would not be borne by taxpayers, but by private donors, including himself.

This is reasonable, after all, according to the latest survey by the Financial Times, the Trump family's crypto business has achieved over $1.1 billions in pre-tax profits in the past year, and if unrealized gains are included, their net asset increase could reach several billions of dollars. With such financial power, the donation is probably just a PR expense for "leaving a mark in history."

Last week, Trump held a dinner to raise donations, claiming to have received support from some "generous patriots and outstanding American companies." According to the donor list released by the White House on October 23, the list includes some of America's largest tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, even agreed to pay more than $20 million for the project. In addition, defense and telecom giants such as Lockheed Martin, Comcast, T-Mobile, and Palantir also made the list.

Even more noteworthy is that the crypto industry has also made it onto the White House donor list. Ripple, Tether America, Coinbase, and the Winklevoss brothers (Cameron and Tyler each appear on the list) are all included. Ripple once became a symbol of the crypto industry's "anti-regulation" stance due to its protracted lawsuit with the SEC; Coinbase has long been active in lobbying efforts, hoping to win the label of "legitimacy."

For the past decade, the crypto industry has prided itself on being a "decentralized revolution," opposing the monopoly of traditional power. Now, with a "donation," they have entered a corner of history, and with a bill, they have proven: the decentralized future ultimately still needs a center.

Of course, not everyone is pleased with this reconstruction. "In my view, this huge banquet hall is a moral nightmare," said Richard Painter, a senior lawyer who served as White House ethics counsel under the Bush administration. "This is using access to the White House to raise money... All these companies want something from the government."

The brick walls of the White House East Wing are coming down, and a new hall is being laid. In this "rebuilding ceremony," new patrons are entering the scene. The rules of the game in Washington have not changed—only this time, crypto capital has finally gotten its ticket in.