White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project

Source: New York Times

White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project

ArcelorMittal, a European steel maker, is donating tens of millions of dollars of foreign steel for President Trump's new ballroom.


The construction site for the new White House ballroom last month. Doug Mills/The New York Times

By Ana Swanson and Luke Broadwater
Reporting from Washington
April 8, 2026, 5:26 p.m. ET

President Trump has championed the U.S. steel industry, promising to strengthen it and to impose stiff tariffs on foreign metals to shield manufacturers from overseas competitors. ... Yet the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars worth of donated foreign steel for Mr. Trump's $400 million ballroom project, according to two people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and private conversations.

ArcelorMittal, a Luxembourg-based firm that is the world's second-largest steel maker, is providing steel for the structure of the ballroom project, the people said. They said the steel was produced in Europe, where the bulk of ArcelorMittal's production is concentrated. ... The White House has not disclosed details of the donation, but Mr. Trump said last October that he had been offered a donation of steel for the ballroom valued at $37 million. ... The president's comments came just days before the White House made adjustments to its tariffs that could benefit ArcelorMittal, by cutting in half the tariffs applied to exports of automotive steel from its Canadian plant.

Mr. Trump has boasted that taxpayers are not on the hook for building his ballroom, the cost of which has risen by 100 percent, according to the president's own estimates. But the use of foreign steel for a ballroom built at the most recognizable building in the United States may anger domestic companies and unions that are trying to promote the U.S. industry.

The president has said that he already raised the money for the ballroom from wealthy donors, including major tech and crypto companies, and that businesses pledged to donate all of the steel and air conditioning for the structure. ... He identified Carrier, a U.S. company, as the donor behind the air conditioning, but did not say which business would provide the steel. The White House has made public the names of some donors to the project, but has allowed others to remain secret. ... ArcelorMittal declined to comment. Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, said that Mr. Trump was “making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves at no cost to the taxpayer — something everyone should celebrate.”

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Kenneth P. Vogel contributed reporting.

Ana Swanson covers trade and international economics for The Times and is based in Washington. She has been a journalist for more than a decade.

Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/us/politics/white-house-foreign-steel-ballroom.html

Unprecedented corruption

— Brendan Nyhan (@brendannyhan.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T01:14:23.065Z

NEW: Trump accepted m worth of donated steel for his WH ballroom project from the Luxembourg-based company ArcelorMittal.

Days later, the WH made adjustments to Trump's tariffs that could benefit ArcelorMittal.

— Ken Vogel (@kenvogel.bsky.social) 2026-04-09T00:04:08.540Z