Story perspectives

Trump touts “drone-proof” White House ballroom, sidesteps hearing

5/20/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump used a press pool to show the excavation of a privately funded 90,000-sq-ft White House ballroom.
He called the roof “drone-proof” and a military drone-port despite low elevation and taller buildings.
Trump said a $1 billion Senate appropriation would fund security for a complex, not the ballroom, while briefing diverted attention from a Senate Judiciary hearing on the DOJ’s $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump used a press pool to show the excavation of a privately funded 90,000-sq-ft White House ballroom.
He called the roof “drone-proof” and a military drone-port despite low elevation and taller buildings.
Trump said a $1 billion Senate appropriation would fund security for a complex, not the ballroom, while briefing diverted attention from a Senate Judiciary hearing on the DOJ’s $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.