Fact check: How much did the Trump administration spend on White House renovations in 2017 and 2018?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the available analyses, there is limited specific information about White House renovation spending during 2017 and 2018. The sources consistently mention a $200 million White House renovation project that includes the construction of a new 90,000 square foot ballroom ^{[1] [2]}. However, none of the sources provide a clear breakdown of spending specifically for the years 2017 and 2018 as requested in the original question.

The analyses reveal that President Trump had a long-standing interest in building a ballroom at the White House ^[3], and that he donated his presidential salary to help with White House renovations ^[4]. The $200 million figure appears to be associated with the ballroom construction project specifically, rather than general White House renovations during those years.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses lack several crucial pieces of information needed to fully answer the original question:

• No specific timeline connecting the $200 million project to the 2017-2018 period
• No breakdown of actual expenditures versus planned or announced projects
• No distinction between different types of renovations (routine maintenance, security upgrades, aesthetic changes, etc.)
• No comparison to previous administrations' White House renovation spending

Additionally, one source discusses a separate $2.5 billion Federal Reserve headquarters renovation ^[5], which could potentially create confusion about which renovation project is being referenced, though this appears to be unrelated to White House renovations.

The sources also don't provide context about who would benefit financially from such large-scale renovation projects, including construction companies, contractors, and suppliers who would receive these government contracts.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself doesn't contain misinformation, but it assumes that specific spending data for 2017-2018 White House renovations is readily available and documented. The analyses suggest this assumption may be incorrect, as the sources focus primarily on announced projects rather than actual expenditures during those specific years.

There's also potential for conflation between different renovation projects - the analyses mention both general White House renovations and the specific $200 million ballroom project, but don't clearly distinguish whether these are separate initiatives or part of the same overall renovation effort ^{[1] [2]}.

The question's framing may inadvertently exclude other significant renovation-related activities that occurred during the Trump administration, focusing narrowly on a two-year window that may not capture the full scope of White House improvement projects during that period.