President Donald Trump offered more details about his White House ballroom construction project, saying it would include a military hospital, research center and several meeting rooms belowground.
It will also store drones to provide a shield for Washington, D.C., he said.
“The ballroom is really a shield and (it’s) protecting all of the things that are built here,” Trump told reporters in an impromptu press availability outside the construction zone on Tuesday. “We’re gonna have the greatest drone empire that you’ve ever seen, and it’s going to protect Washington.”
Trump reiterated the project was being funded solely through private donations despite Senate Republicans working to include $1 billion for security capabilities in their immigration funding package. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that provision does not qualify for the budget reconciliation process, prompting Republicans to reconsider how they can fit the funding into the larger bill.
Trump has personally pushed for the $1 billion to be included, and he has reportedly pressured Senate GOP leaders to either fire the parliamentarian or overrule her decision.
Trump touted the White House ballroom as being secure, telling reporters it “can stop just about anything.”
“We call it a drone port,” he said. “It’s set up for an unlimited number of drones.”
The roof, Trump said, would be flat and not have any equipment on it. “Purposely, we don’t have any air conditioning equipment up there, because we don’t want anything coming down through the pipes. All of the equipment is inside of the building, and that’s for safety reasons.”
“What happened a couple weeks ago at the White House correspondents’ dinner could not happen here,” he said, referring to the assassination attempt last month at the Washington Hilton.
Although Trump has said he wants that event to be rescheduled in the coming weeks, a new date has not been decided.
