A major change is coming to the White House, as US President Donald Trump has ordered the East Wing to be torn down to make room for a new $250 million ballroom.
Construction crews began demolishing parts of the East Wing on Monday, and officials say the entire structure will be removed by the end of the week. The new ballroom will be part of a large renovation project first announced over the summer.
When the plan was introduced, Trump said the ballroom addition would not affect the existing White House structure. However, recent work shows that the project is far bigger than first expected, raising concerns about transparency and preservation.
Trump defended the plan, saying, “We’ve been more transparent than anyone’s ever been.” But his explanation did little to calm critics. Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have sent a letter to the president, asking for full details of the project and documents related to the demolition.
Conservationists have also voiced their concerns, arguing that the White House should have faced stricter review before such a major change began. Normally, large projects that affect historic buildings are reviewed under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. However, the White House is exempt from this law, which means public consultation was not required.
The new ballroom is expected to host state dinners, official events, and ceremonies once completed. But for now, the demolition has sparked debate with some praising the expansion as modernization, while others see it as a threat to the nation’s most historic home.