Trump White House ballroom usher.

The longest-serving White House chief usher says presidents before Donald Trump were interested in having a larger space for entertaining too. It’s a sentiment that Trump cites as justification for building a new ballroom, a project he now estimates will cost $400 million. Gary Walters retired as chief usher in 2007 after 21 years in the job. He recently wrote a memoir about his time at the White House. Walters says massive tents on the south grounds were used for events that were too big for indoors, but they came at a cost. Trump has complained about using tents.