The East Wing of the White House will be completely demolished to make way for the Trump Ballroom

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) – The East Wing of the White House will be completely demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, contradicting the former New York real estate mogul’s pledge that the project would not interfere with the existing American landmark.

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“To do it properly, we had to remove the existing structure,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

An administration official said the demolition process would likely be completed within two weeks. “We can confirm that the entire east wing is going to be modernized and renovated to, I assume, support the ballroom project,” the official said.

The demolition of part of one of the most historic buildings in the United States has sparked an angry outcry from many Democrats and questions about whether the Trump administration followed proper protocols. The White House called the criticism “manufactured outrage.”

The most recent version of the East Wing came into existence in 1942, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. U.S. presidents have renovated and expanded the White House and its grounds throughout history, but Trump’s changes are the most significant in decades.

“President Trump’s desecration of the White House is an insult to the American people and a betrayal of their obligation to safeguard our history and heritage,” U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said in a statement Wednesday.

Trump’s White House chief of staff, Will Scharf, chairs the NCPC. Scharf told Reuters on Wednesday that he had not been involved in the planning of the ballroom and would be able to look objectively when the plans were submitted to the commission.

“I played no role in the ballroom planning process here at the White House and I take my duties as chair of the NCPC very seriously,” he said.

Scharf said he would be able to say no to Trump or other White House officials involved in the project despite his role at both institutions.

“Do I have the ability to vote, as a commissioner of the NCPC, independent of my position in the White House? Yes, absolutely. If I don’t like a project, I will vote against it. If I like a project, I will vote for it,” he said.

QUESTIONS ON TRANSPARENCY

The White House was unable to say which entity, if any, had or should have overseen the demolition of the East Wing. Scharf said CNPC was responsible for construction but not demolition.

Bryan Green, who served as NCPC commissioner under Democratic President Joe Biden, told Reuters on Tuesday that demolition work and new construction should be linked as part of a review of the construction project.

Trump said Wednesday the project would cost $300 million, an increase from the original $200 million price tag announced in July. He says he and private donors fund the ballroom, but he has not disclosed full funding details.

The president dismissed concerns that his administration had not been transparent about the project.

“These photos were in the newspapers,” Trump said, referring to photos he had in the Oval Office showing what the ballroom would look like when completed. A model of the project was placed on a table in front of him.

Scharf said he expected the National Park Service to submit plans for the ballroom on behalf of the White House to the NCPC for review. There will be at least two, if not three, open meetings with the opportunity for public comment, he said.

Scharf said he expected the review to take about three months.

“It’s a rigorous process,” he said. “It’s a process that, you know, in some cases can move quite quickly – just a few months. In other cases, we’ve had projects that take much longer.”

The National Trust for Historic Preservation on Tuesday asked the Trump administration to halt the demolition until the planning commission’s review is complete. His letter expressed concern that the proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom would “overwhelm the White House itself.” The White House is 55,000 square feet.

But efforts to stop the project will likely be difficult because much of the east wing has already been demolished.

Sarah Kavanagh, who lives in neighboring Maryland, said she came to the White House on Wednesday to witness the demolition herself.

“Honestly, I want to put out a bunch of flowers for a memorial,” Kavanagh, 59, said. “I think it’s disgusting.”

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