White House tours to pause due to ballroom construction, visits open for a few more days—here’s what you need to know

Public tours of the White House are set to come to a halt due to the planned construction of a newly announced on-site ballroom, scheduled to begin in September 2025. According to the spokespersons or official websites of several congressional offices, members were informed by the White House that the pause on these tours would begin in September and tours could be postponed "indefinitely," ABC News reported.

Offices also provided various reasons behind the pause on tours, including "construction projects," "extensive renovations," and "because of construction on the new White House ballroom," according to ABC News. Without mentioning anything about the halting tours, the official Visit the White House website stated in an "Announcement Regarding Upcoming Expansion" that construction on the 90,000-square-foot project is set to begin in September and is expected to be completed before the end of President Donald Trump's second term.

The update on the White House tours suspension was confirmed to ABC News by multiple congressional offices, and the pause was also verified by a White House official to NBC News. The pause in tours is also noted publicly on several congressional websites, although they don’t specifically mention the ballroom project announced by the Trump administration in late July 2025.


"Beginning on September 1st, 2025, the White House will be undergoing extensive renovations. As a result, all tours of the White House are postponed indefinitely," a statement on the website of Rep. Eugene Vindman, a Democratic member from Virginia, read.

What will be new in the White House?

The White House has stated that the ballroom will have a seated capacity of 650 people, and it will come with a roughly $200 million price tag. The construction cost will be paid by Trump and other donors.

News of the White House tour pause did not go down well with everyone in Congress. "Seriously? School trips. Families. All shut out indefinitely for the building of a ballroom? Are the millions of people they cancelled on all going to be invited back for a ball?," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, wrote on X.

How White House tours are scheduled

All White House tours are scheduled through a visitor's representative or senator. Around 10,000 people toured the White House each week during the Biden administration.

Can book White House tours through the end of August, says White House liaison

A White House liaison has "confirmed that we can still book tours through the end of August, but they have cancelled all September tours. They said that they'll give more info after Labor Day," an aide told ABC News.