The event unfolded shortly after 8 pm, as guests in tuxedos and ball gowns filled the Cross Hall to capacity, leaving little room to move. The President’s Own Marine Band played near the front entrance, while Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance stood just inside the door as lawmakers and spouses awaited the President’s arrival.

Fifteen minutes later, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump descended the Grand Staircase beneath the portraits of former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Trump appeared energized by the crowd, with the First Lady standing beside him at the podium.

In his opening remarks, Trump pointedly acknowledged the Democratic lawmakers in attendance. “I see some faces that are friendly, but they could be friendlier,” he said, drawing laughter from the room. He later called it “a tremendous tribute that so many Democrats have joined us today, at a high level.”

Trump used the occasion to revisit a long-standing White House ambition, noting that presidents had sought to build a large ballroom for more than a century. “For 150 years, they’ve been trying to do a ballroom. They never got it off, but we got it all,” he said, promising the project could be completed in about a year and a half.

He also recounted attending a series of holiday gatherings, saying demand far exceeded capacity. “Eleven people are turned down for every one that makes it,” Trump said, calling the turnout “a very good feeling.”