Fact Check: Did $376M White House renovation project take place under Obama?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid backlash over the demolition of part of the White House to build a multimillion-dollar ballroom, a viral rumor has been circulating online. The claim suggests that a $376 million White House renovation project took place under former President Barack Obama.

This narrative has been widely shared across social media platforms, with some posts referencing a 2010 CNN report, while others allege that Obama personally allocated $370 million in taxpayer funds for the renovation.

Claim: $376 million White House renovation took place under Obama

Some social media users, including conservative political activist Christian Collins, claimed that the White House underwent an expensive renovation during the Obama administration, citing a 2010 CNN report.

Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas) amplified Collins’ claim on X, and similar posts spread across Instagram, Threads, and Facebook. Other users alleged, supported by archived posts, that former President Barack Obama personally spent $370 million in taxpayer money on the renovation project. 

One Facebook post stated, “Hey liberals! In 2010, Obama spent $370M on White House renovations. Paid for by taxpayers. Trump's renovations cost to taxpayers? Zero!”

An X user wrote, “A CNN report from 2010: $376 million White House renovation during the Obama Administration. Where was the Democrat outrage then?" That post received over 3,700 replies and 49,900 likes. 

Fact Check: False, viral claim is misleading

According to reports, renovations associated with the Obama administration did occur in 2010 as part of a four-year, $376 million White House project that began during his presidency.

However, many social media posts left out crucial context, Congress had approved the funding in 2008, following a report from the administration of then-President George W Bush. News reports explained that the project aimed to modernize the White House’s aging infrastructure.

It is therefore misleading to claim that Obama personally “spent” $370 million on renovations. The project was actually a utility upgrade funded through a congressional appropriation made in 2001 and did not involve any changes to the White House’s historic structures.

The current demolition of the East Wing to build a new ballroom is a completely separate project with different funding sources and objectives.

What are the reports about the White House renovation in 2010?

Bloomberg News reported on May 22, 2010, that the White House had launched a four-year, $376 million renovation project to improve infrastructure in the East and West Wings.

The report explained that workers were replacing decades-old heating, cooling, electrical, and fire alarm systems, along with unspecified security equipment.

CNN later confirmed in a September 10, 2010, segment that Congress had approved the project’s funding in 2008, before Obama took office, following a Bush administration report that warned of periodic system failures in the White House. Bloomberg News further noted that several of the building’s systems were nearing the end of their “reliable productivity.”

Bob Peck, then the Public Buildings Commissioner for the General Services Administration, which oversees federal facilities, acknowledged that “there have been some service interruptions.”

During the same CNN segment, correspondent Suzanne Malveaux pressed Peck on why the government was spending $376 million during a period of economic hardship for many Americans. Peck responded that the White House, as a global symbol of democracy, needed to function properly. He emphasized that the extensive underground utility work made the renovation a “costly project.”