WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he doesn't plan to name the new $300 million ballroom in the White House after himself.

The president said he'll probably call the 90,000-square-foot event space, for which he's torn down the entirety of the historic East Wing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the "presidential ballroom, or something like that."

"I don't have any plan to call it after myself," Trump told reporters at the White House before departing for Asia on Oct. 24. "We haven't really thought about a name yet."

ABC News reported Friday that Trump was likely to dub the space, which will hold roughly 1,000 people and dwarf the rest of the White House in size, "The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom."

Construction began in earnest on the project at the end of the third week of what is quickly gearing up to become the longest government shutdown in American history.

Stark photos of the East Wing's demolition took the nation by surprise in recent days, prompting criticism from prominent voices like Chelsea Clinton, who grew up in the White House and accused Trump of "wrecking" history by not going through the proper channels to significantly change the structure of her old home.

Despite legal and ethical questions, the renovation is being funded by Trump himself, as well as prominent tech and crypto firms such as Google, Meta and Coinbase, according to the White House. It's unclear how much money each of the over three dozen contributors will put forward.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says he doesn't plan to name White House ballroom after himself

Reporting by Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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