How the White House Ballroom Became Emblematic of the Trump Presidency
President Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot, highly secure White House ballroom is an animating focus of his second term and deemed by ethics experts a key example of the administration's pay-to-play behavior.
“President Trump’s approach to ethics seems to be to ask for forgiveness rather than permission,” says Ann Skeet, Ethic Center senior director of leadership ethics.
Ann Skeet, senior director, leadership ethics, quoted by .
May 6, 2026