Trump’s White House ballroom blasted as a 'corruption tumor'
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a press conference following a U.S. strike on Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A Trump-backed White House renovation project is being framed by critics as a glaring symbol of corruption, with former impeachment counsel Norm Eisen denouncing the planned White House ballroom as a “corruption tumor on the White House grounds.” Speaking to The New Republic, Eisen warned that Trump’s insistence the project is funded by private donors—including oil companies—underscores a payback culture linking foreign policy, including aggression toward Venezuela, to benefactors’ interests. Eisen argued the ballroom is less a functional upgrade than a vanity project reflecting Trump’s failure to “drain the swamp,” instead deepening it through quasi-official fundraising that could give corporate donors influence over national landmarks, even as public frustration grows over rising healthcare costs and what Eisen described as Trump’s historic unpopularity.

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Trump’s White House ballroom blasted as a 'corruption tumor,' critics say Trump’s White House ballroom blasted as a 'corruption tumor,' critics say