The White House is set to temporarily halt public tours as construction begins on a newly announced on-site ballroom.
While the official Visit The White House website does not explicitly mention a pause in tours, it notes in an “Announcement Regarding Upcoming Expansion” that work on the 90,000-square-foot project will start in September and is slated for completion before the end of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Several congressional offices confirmed to ABC News that tours will be suspended during the ballroom construction, and a White House official also verified the pause to NBC News.
Some congressional websites have publicly reflected the interruption to tours, though they do not specifically reference the ballroom itself, which was unveiled by the Trump administration in late July.
“Beginning on September 1st, 2025, the White House will be undergoing extensive renovations. As a result, all tours of the White House are postponed indefinitely,” states the website of Rep. Eugene Vindman, a Democratic representative from Virginia.
The planned ballroom will accommodate roughly 650 seated guests, according to the White House, and comes with an estimated $200 million price tag. The costs will be covered by President Trump and other private donors.
Not everyone in Congress is pleased with the news.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, commented on X, “Seriously? School trips. Families. All shut out indefinitely for the building of a ballroom? Are the millions of people they cancelled on all going to be invited back for a ball?”
