The White House is seeking to put President Donald Trump's ballroom project in the permitting fast lane, as federal agencies lack simple details about the project and are still waiting for building plans.

The Trump administration already caused massive controversy by summarily razing the East Wing of the White House to begin work.

According to The Washington Post, "The dueling accounts and compressed review schedule underscore a central dispute over the project: whether the Trump administration is taking the procedural steps required under federal preservation law, or advancing construction in ways that could foreclose meaningful public review. By pouring millions into early foundation work while approvals remain unresolved, critics argue, the White House risks constraining meaningful scrutiny by oversight bodies."

"The Trump administration said it formally submitted applications on Dec. 22 to two committees charged by Congress with reviewing federal construction: the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, according to a White House official," said the report. "Three days earlier, White House officials met separately with staff members from each commission to present a slide deck and conceptual renderings the administration released in July, the official said."

Ultimately, according to the report, the White House wants the ballroom to be complete within nine months, a drastic difference from other projects of similar scale that have taken years to complete the permitting.

"The review process for the ballroom building departs sharply from past practice," said the report. "Large projects have previously undergone a rigorous, multistage review that begins well before any demolition or site work. Agencies typically engage planning commission staff months or years in advance, former commission officials and construction entities have said. At each stage, commissioners and staff evaluate design, siting and environmental impacts."

The plans for Trump's ballroom, as well as a massive arch he hopes to have completed in time for America's 250th anniversary celebration next summer, are not the only drastic changes the president wants to make to D.C. He is also planning the demolition of 13 historic buildings, putting him in direct conflict with preservation groups.

President Donald Trump raged about alleged social services fraud committed in Minnesota during a brief appearance at his New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday.

The debate about social services fraud in Minnesota reappeared this week after a right-wing YouTuber posted a video alleging he found $100 million in child care fraud at Somali-run child care centers. A top Republican in the state has admitted she steered the YouTuber to the centers, all of which had recently had their operations paused.

"We're back! I didn't think it could happen this fast, but it did," Trump said. "Faster than anybody thought possible. We have a lot of leaders here. Great leaders, like Tom Emmer, whom I saw on television today. He was talking about the Somalia fraud. He was talking about the Somalian population and not very nicely."

Trump and his allies have gravitated toward the Somali fraud story in recent days in an attempt to distract from the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files, some of which painted Trump's relationship with Epstein in an unscrupulous light.

"We're going to take back our country," Trump continued. "Can you imagine, they stole $18 billion. That's just what we're learning about."

"That's peanuts," he continued. "California is worse. Illinois is worse. And, sadly, New York is worse."

Fans of Donald Trump were left scratching their heads on Wednesday as the White House attempted to brag about key "wins" for his administration this year.

In a post to X, the official White House account wrote in all capital letters, "2025 MAGA wins: Foreign Affairs." Accompanying the post was a photo touting Trump's foreign policy accomplishments, including the misleading claim that he has ended eight wars. It also touted a deal for NATO members to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP and Trump's dozens of meetings with foreign leaders.

The seemingly innocent boast was met with derision, however, from Trump's own fans.

X user Patriot911replied, "I love Trump but is this a serious post?"

"Do nothings is all you are," wrote the account 100MillionSats, attaching a photo of an elephant looking in a mirror and pointing at itself with the caption, "You get out there and waste another majority."

X user John, whose account touts "Christ is King" and states "America First" bemoaned on X, "You mean lSRAEL FIRST don’t you?"

Charlie Hargrave, a proud vaccine skeptic, chided on X, "That's nice. But none of those wars being stopped helped America First."

User Kyle shot back at the White House, "You focused on foreigners and foreign countries the first year...We'll see how much you mean about 'America First' you f---ing corrupt pieces of s---. It should have always been America First and only."