The New American Palace

How a Privately Funded White House Ballroom Became a Billion-Dollar Symbol of Fortress Government | Senate Security Funding Request for Broader White House Complex + Secret Service Modernization

Rxan Smith | Power & Architectur

America cannot afford housing, childcare, functioning infrastructure, or public trust. But it can apparently afford a fortified ceremonial palace attached to a billion-dollar security expansion. Officially, the ballroom will be privately funded: a patriotic gift, a prestige project, a symbol of restoration. That story is technically accurate. It is also almost entirely beside the point.