Construction of a new ballroom on the White House grounds began this week under the direction of President Donald Trump — and immediately exploded a previously dormant Clinton scandal from 2001.
Trump’s ballroom construction move was immediately met with ire from former first lady Hillary Clinton, who took to social media to trash the president for “destroying” the people’s house.
“It’s not his house,” Clinton wrote on X. “It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
Clinton’s post included a screenshot of The Washington Post’s report, “White House begins demolishing East Wing Facade to build Trump’s ballroom,” accompanied by a photo of a demolition crew.
However, in typical Hillary-fashion, she quickly forgot that she was involved in a furniture controversy with former President and husband Bill Clinton.
Clinton’s X post quickly set off conservatives like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who seized on the opportunity to bring up the 2001 furniture controversy, when the Clintons stole an estimated $28,000 in White House furnishings provided by donors and paid $86,000 to the federal government for other gifts they received.
“At least he didn’t steal the silverware,” Cruz posted to X Tuesday..
At least he didn’t steal the silverware. https://t.co/3PfJkV09pj
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 21, 2025
“Gifts did not leave the White House without the approval of the White House usher’s and curator’s offices,” the Clintons said in a 2001 statement. “Of course, if the White House now determines that a cataloging error occurred … any item in question will be returned.”
“All of these items were considered gifts to us,” Hillary Clinton claimed at the time. “That’s what the permanent record of the White House showed. . . . But if there is a different intent, we will certainly honor the intention of the donor.”
Critics also pointed to former President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal with intern Monica Lewinsky inside the Oval Office, while others resurrected the infamous Lincoln Bedroom controversy in which Bill Clinton and his administration fell under scrutiny in the 1990s for hosting donors for overnight stays at the White House, specifically the Lincoln Bedroom, allegedly in exchange for campaign donations.
“Yes, between selling nights in the Lincoln bedroom to donors and her husband’s tutelage of the interns in the Oval Office, if anyone treated the WH as sacred it was the Clintons,” conservative writer Mark Hemingway wrote on X.
Yes, between selling nights in the Lincoln bedroom to donors and her husband’s tutelage of the interns in the Oval Office, if anyone treated the WH as sacred it was the Clintons. https://t.co/h3vcDISVv0
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) October 21, 2025
“Hi Hillary, Remind us, wasn’t it you who walked off with $28,000 in White House furniture when you moved out?” conservative influencer Benny Johnson posted to X.
“And your husband who defiled the Oval Office during his presidency? President Trump’s funding a beautiful new ballroom out of his own pocket.”
Hi Hillary,
Remind us, wasn’t it you who walked off with $28,000 in White House furniture when you moved out? And your husband who defiled the Oval Office during his presidency?
President Trump’s funding a beautiful new ballroom out of his own pocket.
Where was this outrage… https://t.co/7wQhxTHgzy pic.twitter.com/vWgnCIFbMC
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 21, 2025
Trump announced Monday that construction had begun on the ballroom, following months of floating the planned project to modernize the White House.
The project does not cost taxpayers and is privately funded, the White House reported.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom project is expected to accommodate approximately 650 seated guests, according to the White House.
“I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,” Trump said on Truth Social.
“Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!”
The ballroom construction comes after Trump made other updates to the White House, including installing two 88-foot-tall American flags and an overhaul to the White House Rose Garden.
“President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News when asked about Clinton’s post and other Democrats criticizing the ballroom construction.
“These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the People’s House.”