The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump’s ballroom
White House Begins East Wing Demolition for Trump’s $250 Million Ballroom Without Final Approval
By Darlene Superville – Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday began tearing down part of the East Wing — the portion of the Executive Mansion traditionally used by the first lady and her staff — to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned $250 million ballroom, even though federal regulators have not yet granted approval for the project.
Photos taken from Lafayette Park and areas near the Treasury Department showed heavy construction machinery ripping into the East Wing façade, with windows, bricks, and debris scattered across the lawn. Reporters stationed nearby described the sight as the most significant visible alteration to the White House grounds in decades.
Trump himself confirmed the start of construction in a social media post and mentioned the activity while hosting the 2025 college baseball champions — Louisiana State University and LSU–Shreveport — at a White House ceremony in the East Room.
“We have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically,” Trump told the crowd. “It just started today.”
The administration’s decision to begin demolition without formal sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) — the agency that approves all major federal construction in the Washington area — raised immediate questions about oversight and procedure.
At the commission’s September meeting, Will Scharf, NCPC chairman and White House staff secretary, argued that the agency’s authority does not extend to demolition or site preparation on federal property.
“What we deal with is essentially construction — vertical build,” Scharf said at the time.
It remains unclear whether the White House has formally submitted the ballroom’s design for the NCPC’s review. Requests for comment from both the White House and the commission went unanswered Monday; the NCPC’s offices are currently closed due to the ongoing government shutdown.
When Trump announced the ballroom project in July, he insisted it would not alter or endanger the historic mansion itself.
“It’ll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said.
The East Wing, built in 1902 and expanded in 1942, houses offices for the first lady and her staff. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in July that those offices would be temporarily relocated during construction and that the wing would undergo modernization.
“Nothing will be torn down,” Leavitt had said at the time, describing the project as a renovation rather than a demolition.
However, Monday’s images of excavators tearing into the East Wing appeared to contradict that earlier assurance.
Trump has described the proposed ballroom — a 90,000-square-foot glass-walled event space — as a long-overdue addition to the White House. He claims past presidents wished for such a venue for state dinners, official receptions, and large gatherings.
The East Room, currently the largest space inside the mansion, can hold about 200 guests. Trump has frequently complained that it is too small to host visiting heads of state, saying he dislikes holding events under tents or temporary pavilions on the South Lawn.
In July, Trump said the ballroom would be built “with zero cost to the American taxpayer,” funded instead by “patriots, great American companies, and yours truly.”
The White House has pledged to disclose the list of donors funding the $250 million project, though no such list has been made public.
At a private dinner last week for top business leaders contributing to the effort, Trump reportedly said the ballroom had “grown in size” and would now accommodate 999 guests, up from 650 at the original announcement.
Among the notable contributions, Carrier Global Corp., a leading HVAC manufacturer, confirmed Monday that it will donate a state-of-the-art air conditioning system for the new venue.
“Carrier is honored to provide the new iconic ballroom at the White House with a world-class, energy-efficient HVAC system,” the company said in a statement.
Site preparation — including tree removal on the South Grounds — began in September. Construction is expected to continue for several years, with plans for completion before Trump’s current term ends in January 2029.
If finished, the new structure would represent the most dramatic physical change to the White House since the addition of the Truman Balcony in 1948, surpassing even that renovation in size and scope.
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