Construction crews on Monday began demolishing part of the East Wing, the part of the White House complex that houses the offices of the first lady, as part of Donald Trump’s plans for building a $250 million ballroom that will dominate the grounds.
Reporters spotted the demolition work today.
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Per the Washington Post, Trump previously said that the new ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building.” But the schematics made clear that the East Wing would be overhauled, taking on more of the scope of the Treasury Department building across the street than the smaller Executive Residence and West Wing.
On Monday, Trump pointed to a “knock out panel” in the existing East Room that will provide access “right into” the new ballroom, signaling a change even to the main building, known as the Executive Residence, at the White House complex.
The initial plans, unveiled in July, were for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom with a capacity for 650 people, much larger than the East Room, where many presidential administrations have hosted formal functions like state dinners and In Performance at the White House. It can accommodate around 250 people.
But the size of the project has expanded since then, to accommodate about 900 people, with the cost estimated at $250 million. The White House has said that it would be funded through private donations.
“The White House for 150 years plus, they wanted to have a ballroom, and it never happened because they didn’t have a real estate person,” Trump told a dinner of donors to the project last week. Among those present were representatives from Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Coinbase, Comcast, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta Platforms and T-Mobile, per the AP.
The East Wing was built in 1902, and a second floor was added in 1942. It has been renovated since then, but it also has served as the typical entrance for visiting guests to White House events, like holiday parties and dinners, connected to the main building by a corridor.
On Monday, Trump said that the new ballroom will be accessible from the existing East Room. “So you will have drinks. cocktails everything on this floor, and then they say, ‘Welcome to dinner.’ You walk into the ballroom … and you will see a ballroom the likes of which, I don’t think it will be topped.”
Trump administration officials have said that the new structure will be “almost identical” to the “theme and architectural heritage” of the main White House building, which was initially known as the Executive Mansion.
The Executive Residence was completely overhauled during Harry Truman’s presidency, with the interior gutted and the entire structure reinforced.
The White House Historical Association, founded by Jacqueline Kennedy to “protect, preserve, and provide public access to the rich history of America’s Executive Mansion,” did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On social media, critics of the demolition referred to it as a metaphor for what is going on in the Trump administration, as he breaks democratic norms and has ordered troops to major U.S. cities.
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