The White House announced plans for one of the largest renovations of the executive mansion in decades,

a 90,000 square foot state ballroom that will be built in the east wing of the White House complex.

The cost is some $200 million, with construction set to begin in September.

The White House says it will be funded by donations from President Trump and other private donors.

We've been planning it for a long time. They've wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than

150 years, but there's never been a president that was good at ballrooms. I'm really good.

For more on this, we're joined by Tamara Keith, senior White House correspondent for NPR.

There's never been a president who's been good at

ballrooms, President Trump says, Tam. So what more do we know about this project, how it came to be,

and who's been driving this effort behind the scenes? He is driving this effort behind the scenes.

This is something that he has been on a mission to have built all the way back at least until 2010.

I spoke with David Axelrod, who was an advisor to then President Obama.

He got a call from Donald Trump.

Then just a man on the outside, offering initially to help with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, you might remember.

Then when that was solved, he called back and he said, hey, I can build ballrooms.

You need a ballroom.

These tents are no good.

Typically, state dinners have been held in tents because the largest event space at the White

House is the East Room, and it only holds maybe about 200 people seated for dinner.

So Trump called and tried to get Axelrod

to let him build a ballroom at the White House. That didn't work out. Trump has never forgotten

this light. And over the last 15 years, he has talked about this repeatedly. We know now that

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