White House construction project to cost almost $1bn
The White House defended reports it planned to spend nearly $1bn on controversial construction projects.
![The White House and the ongoing Ballroom construction as seen from a window at the Washington Monument, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 15, 2026. [FILE: Al Drago/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/reuters_6a7ca41d-1786553373.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The White House defended reports it planned to spend nearly $1bn on controversial construction projects.
![The White House and the ongoing Ballroom construction as seen from a window at the Washington Monument, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 15, 2026. [FILE: Al Drago/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/reuters_6a7ca41d-1786553373.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![A volunteer signals for silence as rescuers attempt to locate survivors beneath the debris. [Euan Wallace / Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DSC07051-2-1786487312.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
![Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Saleh explains the latest developments after Syria’s ex-president Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad and cousin Atef Najib were sentenced to death in Damascus. [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1786471140.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![A file photo of late Senator Lindsey Graham from November 19, 2025. The US Senate on Friday passed a sweeping sanctions legislation package targeting Russia's energy revenues, championed by Graham. [File: /Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AP26218679962056-1786142915.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)


![US President Donald Trump speaks during an event to sign an executive order regarding vaccine flexibility, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US on Aug. 10, 2026. [Kylie Cooper]](/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/image-1786395261.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

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