Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project as “insulting” after the Supreme Court allowed construction on the $400 million project to continue Monday.
“You have everyday Americans, working-class Americans, they’re not getting a refund on the tariffs that they were illegally charged,” the congresswoman from New York sounded off during a gaggle with press in Washington, D.C. “Their health care subsidies have run out, so small businesses and everyday Americans are paying more for health care and their prescriptions than they ever have.”
She continued: “And we are sitting on money to be able to help everyday Americans, and instead the President is using it on his ballroom. And so I could not think of something more insensitive and insulting to everyday working people than this choice of an expenditure.”
Watch her comments below. A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment
AOC on Ballroom: You have everyday Americans, working-class Americans, they’re not getting a refund on the tariffs that they were illegally charged. Their health care subsidies have run out, so small businesses and everyday Americans are paying more for health care and their… pic.twitter.com/d2iRzM7Ln2
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 1, 2026
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments came hours after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to stop the construction, likely lacked legal standing to challenge the White House project in federal court.
However, Chief Justice John Roberts notably joined Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissent, arguing that the project was “likely unlawful” due to the fact that Congress had not authorized it.
“Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers,” Roberts wrote on Monday.
Nonetheless, Trump celebrated the legal victory on Truth Social Monday afternoon, writing, “I am pleased to report that the United States Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of the Ballroom/Military Complex being built without any further contingency, doubt or threat. We are living in the Golden Age of America, and this Building will be one of the Greatest ever constructed in Washington, D.C.”
“When completed in the Summer of 2028, the magnificent Ballroom and Military Complex will be something that the entire Country is very proud of,” he continued. “The Project, despite the baseless lawsuit brought by the so-called National Trust for Historic Preservation of the United States, which is not in any way affiliated with the United States Government, is under budget and ahead of schedule. The Ballroom is totally funded by Great Patriots and Corporations and, therefore, is a Gift — At no cost to the American Taxpayer. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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