Thursday, October 23, 2025

Trump waltzes into a ballroom controversy

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On Politics

Thu Oct 23 2025

Kathryn Palmer | Politics Reporter

@KathrynPlmr

Happy Thursday! It's Kathryn Palmer here again, for your last OnPolitics edition of the week. Let's get up to speed:

Trump waltzes into a ballroom controversy

As images of the demolition of a section of the White House began circulating, critics expressed outrage about the nation's preeminent historical structure featuring a gaping hole. Initially, Trump's ballroom was only supposed to knock down one wall in the East Wing. But the destruction and projected costs have since mushroomed.

When the White House first released the plans for the ballroom on July 31, Trump told reporters that the 90,000-square-foot addition wouldn't impact the existing structure. Fast forward to today, as bulldozers are removing the entire East Wing of the White House. You can even watch along, in a USA TODAY livestream of the demo.

Costs have also escalated, as Trump appeared to increase the estimated cost of the ballroom by $50 million from previous estimates, saying on Oct. 22 that the price tag was now "about $300 million."

The backlash has been swift from historical societies, Democratic politicians and others.

President Donald Trump holds an image of a rendering of the new White House ballroom to be built as he meets with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte (not pictured) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Oct. 22, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque, REUTERS

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Senate to vote on paying 'essential' workers as shutdown hits Day 23

Thousands of federal workers will likely be paying extra close attention to the Senate today, as a Republican-backed bill to ensure pay for some so-called "essential" workers is up for a vote.

More than 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed since the government shut down on Oct. 1, although employees deemed essential to public safety, including military personnel, law enforcement officers, border patrol and air traffic controllers, have still been required to work.

The bill, known as the Shutdown Fairness Act, would pay many of these employees. However, Democrats say the administration shouldn't get to decide which employees are deemed essential and who should be paid. They're expected to push a countermeasure to try to pay all federal employees.

Hegseth wants a fitter military, but what about the part-timers?

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made fitness a major focus since taking over the Defense Department, pushing initiatives such as gender-neutral standards for combat jobs and a new annual "combat field test."

But while active duty troops can exercise during their workday, significant barriers exist for the many part-time members of the military, even though they are held to the same new requirements. In many cases, these troops are balancing two or three jobs, and unlike full-time members, they don't receive disability benefits if they are injured while training off-duty.

Military leaders have debated the benefits of offering options such as virtual personal trainers and issuing wearable fitness trackers to support reservists in their fitness efforts, and some states have even hired their own dieticians.

You can reach me at kapalmer@usatoday.com