Former Vice President Kamala Harris took a furious swipe at President Donald Trump, lashing out at the construction of his $300 million White House ballroom project at a time when the government shutdown raised the risk of ending food aid funding for tens of millions of low-income Americans. Kamala Harris accused the Trump administration of turning a blind eye to the fact that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would end for millions in America and “babies are going to starve.” “Are you f*****g kidding me? This guy wants to create a ballroom for his rich friends while turning a complete blind eye to the fact that babies are going to starve when SNAP benefits just end,” Kamala Harris said, criticizing Trump for focusing on luxury projects while federal workers remain unpaid and essential programs face disruption. She continued: “I’m not going to be distracted by, ‘Oh, does the guy have a big f-king hammer!?’ What about those babies!?” Kamala Harris argued that it is “important that we do not confuse disruption with destruction.” Also read | Is Donald Trump naming the White House ballroom after himself? US official explains Even as a government shutdown continues, which has left about 750,000 federal employees furloughed and hundreds of federal workers working without pay, construction of an unfinished ballroom has continued. President Donald Trump also appears to have instructed his former campaign finance director to raise money for his controversial project at the White House. Meanwhile, Meredith O’Rourke and her team fanned out across Washington to solicit donations from executives and corporations, people familiar with the development said. So far, according to the White House, the donations have come from Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. ‘s Google, and Meta Platforms Inc. as well as major crypto firms such as Coinbase Inc., Ripple Labs Inc. and Tether Holdings Ltd. At a White House dinner to celebrate the ballroom project, Donald Trump reportedly thanked those who reportedly donated at the time. “I have so many friends, and so many of you have been really, really generous. I mean, some of you, I’m sitting here saying, ‘Sir, would $25 million be appropriate?’ I said, ‘I’ll take it.’” The White House ballroom project began this week with demolition to the East Wing. Trump said the ballroom will be 90,000 square feet with a capacity of 1,000 people. His estimates of the cost have grown from $200 million to as much as $350 million. The White House also said Trump is contributing to the ballroom project, though it did not say how much. (With agency input)