WASHINGTON (AP) — Stewart McLaurin knew it was coming.
An entire wing of the White House, a building he calls “the most special and important building in the world,” should be replaced to make way for a ballroom that President Donald Trump wants to add to the building.
But when McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, saw the first images of backhoes barreling into the East Wing, it still came as a bit of a shock.
“When the reality of things happen, they strike us a little differently than the theory of things that happen, so it was a little bit of a jarring moment,” McLaurin said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.
McLaurin, who has led the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for more than a decade, had no comment on the changes. It’s not his job. “Our point is not to make something happen or prevent something, but to document what is happening, what is happening in this great house that we call the White House,” he said.
But he said he saw a silver lining in the “shocking” images: They had sparked public interest in the history of the White House.
“What’s happened since then is so amazing that in the last two weeks more people have been talking about the history of the White House, focusing on the history of the White House and learning what an East Wing is, what the West Wing is…what are these rooms in this building that we just call the White House,” McLaurin said.
Trump has the East Wing torn down
The general public became aware of the demolition work on Oct. 20 after photos of construction equipment entering the building began circulating online, prompting an outcry from Democrats, preservationists and others.
Within days, the entire two-story East Wing—the established base of operations for the First Ladies and their staff—was gone. The demolition included a covered walkway between the White House, the family movie theater and a garden dedicated to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Trump had talked about building a ballroom for years and pushed his vision when he returned to office in January. His proposal calls for a 90,000-square-foot building, almost twice the size of the 55,000-square-foot White House itself, with room for 1,000 people. The plan also calls for building a more contemporary east wing, officials said.
The Republican president ordered the demolition even though the National Capital Planning Commission, one of several agencies involved in approving expansions of federal buildings and properties, had not yet approved construction of the ballroom. The White House has not yet submitted plans for the ballroom for the commission’s review because it is closed during the government shutdown.
In July, Trump appointed loyalists to the Planning Commission. On Tuesday, he also fired the six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, a group of architectural experts that advises the federal government on historic preservation and public building issues. A up-to-date list of members who are more aligned with Trump’s policies will be named, a White House official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on personnel decisions. The Washington Post was first to report the layoffs.
Art and furnishings in the east wing preserved
It is the job of the White House curator and his staff to carefully remove, catalog and preserve the art, official portraits of former first ladies and furnishings from the East Wing, McLaurin said.
The White House Historical Association has no decision-making authority in construction. But it has been working with the White House to prepare for the changes.
“We knew since late summer that the East Wing staff had moved out. I actually made my last visit on the last day of tours, August 28,” McLaurin said.
Working with the curator and the head usher, the association used 3D scanning technology “so that every room, every room, every nook and cranny of the East Wing, whether it was trim, hinges, door handles or whatever, was captured in great detail” to be digitally recreated as an exhibit or to convey the history of that space, McLaurin said.
A photographer also documented the dismantling of the building.
It will be a while before images are available, but McLaurin said tearing down flooring and stripping wall coverings found items “that no living person could remember. So those will be lessons from history.”
The White House has grown over the years
Trump’s advisers responded to criticism of the demolition by arguing that other presidents had also made changes to the White House. Trump said the White House needs a larger entertainment area.
McLaurin said the building has continued to evolve since it was built in 1792.
“There is a need for modernization and growth,” he said, noting that White House social secretaries have been annoyed by circumscribed space for entertainment events for generations. “But how it is done and how it is achieved and what results are achieved is really the vision of the president who is embarking on this project.”
What the White House Historical Association Does
Jacqueline Kennedy founded the historical association in 1961 to support preserve the museum quality of the White House interiors and educate the public. It receives no government funding and raises money primarily through private donations and the sale of retail merchandise.
It is not the association’s job to take a position on the construction, said McLaurin. Its primary mission is to preserve the state floor and some of the historic upstairs bedrooms of the private living quarters and to teach the history of the White House, which is an accredited museum. The State Floor consists of the Green, Blue and Red Rooms, the East Room and State Dining Room, the Cross Hall and the Grand Foyer.
“Our job is to not support — or not support,” McLaurin said. “Our goal is to understand, to find out the details.”
McLaurin said he has seen an raise in attendance since the demolition at a free education center the association opened in September 2024 a block from the White House. “The People’s House: A White House Experience” is open seven days a week, including during the current government shutdown.
During the weekend of Oct. 17-19, the education center saw its busiest days, with about 1,500 visitors per day, up from a previous average of 900, he said.
