via Latest Political News on Fox News <p>The White House took aim at former President <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/barack-obama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama</a> ahead of Friday's grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center, contrasting President Donald Trump's government construction projects to the 44th president's.</p><p>"President Trump continues to implement long-overdue and necessary renovations to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/from-oval-office-trump-kennedy-center-gilded-makeover-expands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">beautify Washington, D.C.</a>, and our nation’s treasured monuments as we approach our historic 250th anniversary of independence. Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, these projects are being completed on time and under budget — a stark contrast to the errantly run Obama administration, which overspent and underdelivered," White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital when asked for comment about the museum.</p><p>The Obama Presidential Center, which opens to the public Friday following a decade of planning and construction, has faced scrutiny over rising costs, construction delays and public infrastructure spending. The White House seized on those criticisms as Trump promotes a series of renovation and construction projects.</p><p>"President Trump is ensuring our nation’s capital will be properly honored and maintained in excellent condition for generations to come," Ingle added.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bureaucrats-hide-true-price-obama-presidential-center-taxpayers-hit-infrastructure-bill" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>BUREAUCRATS HIDE TRUE PRICE OF OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER AS TAXPAYERS HIT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE BILL</strong></a></p><p>An Obama Presidential Center Dedication held Thursday featured a slew of former diplomats, officials and celebrities such as former Canadian prime minister <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/justin-trudeau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Justin Trudeau</a>, Oprah, Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, and Steven Spielberg.</p><p>Taxpayers footed hundreds of millions of dollars in public infrastructure costs for Obama’s museum that constructed roads, transit, and utility updates around the campus. </p><p>Overall construction costs were reported to be $830 million in 2021 and have likely climbed past the $1 billion mark.</p><p>A recent <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/subcontractors-say-theyre-owed-millions-face-financial-ruin-helping-build-obama-presidential-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Fox News Digital investigation</a> identified multiple construction firms claiming losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to tens of millions.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/subcontractors-say-theyre-owed-millions-face-financial-ruin-helping-build-obama-presidential-center" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>SUBCONTRACTORS SAY THEY’RE OWED MILLIONS, FACE FINANCIAL RUIN, AFTER HELPING BUILD OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER</strong></a></p><p>Meanwhile, Trump has been on a mission to fulfill last year’s executive order titled, "Making the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/washington-dc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">District of Columbia</a> Safe and Beautiful."</p><p>"I will take care of our cherished Capital, and we will make it, truly, GREAT AGAIN! Before the tents, squalor, filth, and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/crime" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crime</a>, it was the most beautiful Capital in the world. It will soon be that again," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in August.</p><p>Obama, along with democratic officials, have taken swipes at Trump over his renovations to Washington, D.C., the White House and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/watch-america-250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">America 250 projects,</a> criticizing them as frivolous.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/photos-inside-making-trumps-ballroom-look-construction-progress" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>PHOTOS: THE MAKING OF TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, A LOOK AT THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS</strong></a></p><p>Trump "has been focused on critical issues like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and gold plating the Oval Office and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-fires-back-claims-ballroom-cost-overruns-price-something-less-400m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">building a $300 million ballroom</a>," Obama said during a rally in October.</p><p>Trump directed the addition of stone pavers in October to the Rose Garden lawn, a change designed to better accommodate press conferences and ceremonial events. There has also been <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-says-east-wing-demolition-necessary-due-structural-issues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">construction at the White House</a> as workers build a ballroom expected to be done before 2028.</p><p>"It’s shameful that Trump is building his fancy ballroom while working families struggle to afford a basic meal during the holidays," wrote former Speaker of the House <a href="https://x.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1993370419760710097?referrer=grok-com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Nancy Pelosi</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-pulls-back-curtain-white-house-ballrooms-fortress-like-defenses-above-deep-below" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>TRUMP PULLS BACK CURTAIN ON WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM’S FORTRESS-LIKE DEFENSES ABOVE AND DEEP BELOW</strong></a></p><p>Trump previously said the future White House ballroom will not just be an event venue, but serve as a hardened security structure designed to support presidential operations and large gatherings.</p><p>He has also planned installation of a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-touts-trumps-bold-vision-towering-independence-arch-america-250" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Circle 250-foot arch</a> for America’s 250th birthday that will be gilded.</p><p>"Your taxes might be going up. But don't worry — at least $15 million of it is going toward Trump's arch project," posted California Gov. <a href="https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/2042349241893630405" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Gavin Newsom’s press office</a> on X. </p><p><i>Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.</i></p>