Work to demolish part of the east wing of the White House begins Monday in Washington, before the construction of a new ballroom.
Evan Vucci/AP
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Evan Vucci/AP
WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday began demolishing part of the East Wing, the first lady’s traditional base of operations, to build President Trump’s $250 million Ballroom, despite a lack of approval for construction from the federal agency that oversees such projects.
Dramatic photos of the demolition work showed construction equipment tearing the facade of the east wing and windows and other parts of the building into shreds on the ground. Some reporters watched the scene from a park near the Treasury Department, which is next to the East Wing.
Trump announced the start of construction in a social media post and referenced the work as he hosted 2025 college baseball champions Louisiana State University and LSU-Shreveport in the East Room. He noted that the work was happening “right behind us.”
“There’s a lot of construction going on, and you may hear about it periodically,” he said, adding, “It just started today.”
The White House has moved forward on the massive construction project even though it has not yet received approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction and major renovations of government buildings in the Washington region.
A model is seen as President Trump addresses a dinner for donors who helped build the new ballroom at the White House October 15 in Washington, DC.
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John McDonnell/AP
Its chairman, Will Scharf, who is also White House chief secretary and a top aide to Trump, said at the commission’s September meeting that the agency does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property.
“What we’re dealing with is basically vertical construction,” Scharf said last month.
It was unclear whether the White House had submitted the ballroom plans for agency review and approval. The White House did not respond to a request for comment and the commission’s offices are closed due to the government shutdown.
The Republican president said in July, when announcing the project, that the ballroom would not interfere with the mansion itself.
“It will be close but not touching and it will totally respect the existing building, which I am the biggest fan of,” he said of the White House.
The East Wing houses several offices, including those of the first lady. It was built in 1902 and has been renovated over the years, with a second floor added in 1942, according to the White House.
Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, said East Wing offices would be temporarily relocated during construction and that wing of the building would be modernized and renovated.
“Nothing will be demolished,” Leavitt said when she announced the project in July.
Trump insists that presidents have wanted such a ballroom for 150 years and that he is adding this massive 90,000-square-foot glass-walled space because the East Room, which is the largest room in the White House with a capacity of about 200 people, is too small. He also said he didn’t like the idea of hosting kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers in pavilions on the South Lawn.
Trump said in the social media announcement that the project would be completed “at no cost to the American taxpayer! The White House Ballroom is privately funded by many generous patriots, major American businesses and yours truly.”
The ballroom will be the largest structural change to the Executive Mansion since the 1948 addition of the Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn, dwarfing even the residence itself.
At a dinner he hosted last week for some of the wealthy business executives who are donating money to finance the $250 million construction cost, Trump said the project had grown in size and could now accommodate 999 people. Capacity was 650 people seated at the time of the July announcement.
The White House has said it will release information about who contributed financially to the construction of the ballroom, but has not yet done so.
Deforestation of the southern land and other land preparation work began in September. The ballroom is expected to be ready before Trump’s term ends in January 2029.
