An excavator works to clear debris after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on Oct. 23, 2025. The demolition is part of President Donald Trump’s plan to build a ballroom on the east side of the White House. (Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — Workers this week demolished the east wing of the White House, originally built in 1942, to make way for the construction of a ballroom that President Donald Trump had said would have no impact on the building.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the roughly $300 million project during a briefing Thursday, saying it was the next in a long line of campus expansions and renovations that have occurred throughout the nation’s history.
“Just trust the process,” Leavitt said. “This will be a great asset to the White House for years to come and will cost taxpayers nothing.”
The project is fully funded by Trump and several private donors, including Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., Caterpillar Inc., Comcast Corporation, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Union Pacific Railroad, investors Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss and others.
Trump said later in the day that he planned to allocate “millions of dollars” to the ballroom and had spent his own money on other projects at the White House, including flooring and lighting in the Palm Room.
“I spent millions of dollars on this building and taking care of it,” he said. “It hasn’t been taken care of properly and now it’s starting to shine like it should. It really should shine.”
Photos by The Associated Press appeared to show that the demolition of the ballroom, first reported Monday, has been completed.
According to a legal opinion from this organization, an executive agency responsible for managing federal construction projects in and around Washington, D.C., Leavitt said demolition of the East Wing would not require approval from the National Capital Planning Commission
“Your general counsel has said that for the first phase of this project, the demolition of the current East Wing building, filing is not legally required,” Leavitt said. “Only vertical construction requires a submission and that is a legal opinion from them and we follow that legal opinion.”
Design changed
Trump said at the end of July that construction of the ballroom “will not impact the current building,” and put the price tag at $200 million.
“It will be close, but not touching it. And it pays absolute respect to the existing building, which I am the biggest fan of,” Trump said at the time. “It’s my favorite place. It’s my favorite place. I love it.”
When Leavitt was asked Thursday why the president didn’t tell Americans he had to tear down the entire East Wing, he said the designs had been changed during the process.
“The plans changed when the president heard the advice of the architects and construction companies who said that this phase one that we are in now was necessary so that this east wing would remain modern and beautiful and be a really strong and stable structure for many, many years to come,” Leavitt said.
She offered no explanation as to why the price had increased by $100 million and repeatedly said that no taxpayer money would go to the ballroom.
Security plans, official name unknown
Leavitt declined to say whether the project will include upgrades to the bunker beneath the East Wing, known as the presidential emergency headquarters, citing security concerns.
“Like all security improvements made to the White House grounds, these will be made and maintained by the United States Secret Service,” she said.
Trump is also deciding what exactly the fresh ballroom will be called, but Leavitt declined to say in detail what he plans to do.
“There will be an official name,” she said. “I will let the president announce that once he has made a firm decision to do so.”
Trump is not currently considering any other major construction or renovation projects on the White House grounds, although Leavitt did not rule out that this could happen later in his term, which will last until January 20, 2029.
“Not to my knowledge, no,” Leavitt said. “But he’s clearly a builder at heart. And so his heart and mind are constantly engaged in improving things here on the White House grounds. But at this point, of course, the ballroom is the president’s main priority.”
Call to receive
The nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation sent a letter Earlier this week, he called for an immediate halt to the demolition of the East Wing “until the plans for the proposed ballroom have gone through the statutory public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, and to invite comments from the public.”
President and CEO Carol Quillen wrote that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom could easily dwarf the 55,000-square-foot White House.
“As we approach the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, the preservation of historic places that represent our country’s history has never been more relevant and important than it is today,” Quillen wrote. “We urge you to consider the deep reverence all Americans have for this iconic place and begin the review process that can ensure the preservation of the historic White House for future generations.”
The National Capital Planning Commission could not be reached for comment on Thursday because it is closed due to the ongoing government shutdown. The Commission of Fine Arts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House Historical Association writes on its website that the East Wing was built in 1942 “to accommodate additional staff and offices, reflecting the growing complexity of the federal government during World War II.”
“The construction of the East Wing was highly controversial due to its timing during the war,” the website says. “Republicans in Congress called the spending wasteful, and some accused (President Franklin D.) Roosevelt of using the project to boost the image of his presidency. The secretive nature of the construction, tied to military purposes, further fueled suspicion. However, the East Wing’s usefulness in supporting the modern presidency ultimately appeased critics.”
