Supporters of President Donald Trump are accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for criticizing his privately funded White House ballroom expansion while California Governor Gavin Newsom oversees a costly taxpayer-backed construction in his Sacramento Capitol.
Newsweek has contacted Gavin Newsom‘s office for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The clash underscores how debates over government spending and accountability are increasingly filtered through partisan lenses. Trump’s privately funded White House expansion has sparked outrage among his critics, even as California’s multibillion-dollar Capitol Annex Project—entirely taxpayer-funded and shielded by nondisclosure agreements—has drawn comparatively little national attention.
What To Know
The controversy stems from Trump’s ongoing renovation plans at the White House, which include the addition of a 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom capable of hosting up to 650 guests.
The project, estimated at around $200 million, is being paid for entirely through private donations rather than federal funds, according to the administration. Trump has touted the expansion as a “gift to the American people.”
A new photo showing the partially demolished East Wing of the White House began circulating widely on social media Monday afternoon. “Donald Trump is now officially demolishing part of the White House to make room for his $200 million golden ballroom. This comes as Americans can’t afford groceries and the government is still shut down,” podcaster Bryan Tyler Cohen wrote on X, sharing the photo.
People on X quickly began commenting on the photo, with one user calling the project a “monstrosity,” while others expressed their dismay at part of the existing building being destroyed.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office wrote on X: “While all the Districts pay extra for groceries and everyday goods, the White House is excited to announce that the Capitol is creating a grand ballroom for opulent parties! May the odds be ever in your favor!!!”
In California, a $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion renovation of the state’s Capitol complex in Sacramento is underway—a project financed entirely by taxpayers. The renovation will make the State Capitol “one of the most expensive buildings in the United States.”
The so-called Capitol Annex Project is a taxpayer-funded overhaul of the 1950s-era state Capitol complex in Sacramento, intended to replace the aging annex with a modern, 525,000-square-foot facility featuring new offices, hearing rooms, and an underground garage. Originally estimated at about $500 million, the project’s cost has since ballooned to between $1.1 and $1.6 billion, according to KCRA.
Construction has been slowed by legal and environmental challenges, including a 2023 appellate court ruling that found flaws in the project’s environmental review. The effort has also faced criticism over transparency after reports revealed that more than 2,000 people involved were required to sign nondisclosure agreements, limiting public access to spending and contracting details. Critics, including some Democratic lawmakers and transparency advocates, have described the use of NDAs on a public project as “highly unusual” and potentially inconsistent with state open-records laws.
Despite these issues, the state has released no updated cost breakdown or completion schedule.
Conservative commentators have seized on the project, arguing that Democrats and left-leaning media outlets have focused heavily on Trump’s privately funded construction while showing little concern for a far larger public expenditure under Governor Newsom.
Republican State Representative Carl DeMaio wrote on X: “Californians have been crushed by Gavin Newsom’s policies & runaway spending like the 1.1 billion on the CA State Capitol Annex. Don’t give more control to the politicians who have failed you.”
California Republican Representative Kevin Kiley wrote on X: “As Newsom trolls the President for using his own funds on a White House ballroom, he’s spending public funds making the State Capitol “one of the most expensive buildings in the United States.” Lawmakers refuse to say how much the last estimate of $1.2 billion has grown, though we do know $5.2 million was spent sending rocks to Italy for “finishing.” “
X user Kevin Dalton wrote: “I wonder why everyone on the left is so upset about President Trump‘s expansion of the White House that is being 100% funded by donations, but have zero interest in the $1.6 billion expansion of Gavin Newsom‘s California Capitol that is 100% taxpayer funded and 100% cloaked in NDA’s and cronyism. It’s (D)ifferent.”
But some have defended the renovation project. Former California Democratic State Assembly member Ken Cooley said: “The goal of all of this … the seat of government is a people’s house, and that building built in 1952 is not welcoming to those Californians blessed today to get mobility through wheelchairs that are motorized. The bathrooms are unappealing. There’s so many ways in which that building is not welcoming which is the original spirit of the building. There are pineapples on all the staircases because that is a symbol of welcoming for the 1870s.”
What People Are Saying
State Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said of the Capitol Annex Project in May: “This project is not about serving Californians. It is about serving themselves. And taxpayers are the ones stuck with the bill. Californians deserve answers, not more excuses. They deserve a government that works for them, not one that walls itself off behind billion-dollar doors.”
President Donald Trump, on Truth Social on Monday evening: “I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom. Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!
“For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway—with zero cost to the American Taxpayer! The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!”
Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, on X: “If I ran for President in 2028, I’d run on taking a bulldozer to Trump’s ballroom, an utter desecration of the peoples’ house. In fact, I’d invite the American people one weekend to bring their own sledgehammers & crowbars to the White House to help tear that abomination down.”
What Happens Next
Trump has promised that the ballroom would be happily used for generations to come. Meanwhile, the Capitol Annex Project remains underway, with the latest estimates suggesting it may not be finished until 2027.