Trump to Demolish Entire East Wing of the White House Despite Previous Pledge Not to ‘Interfere With the Current Building’
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump’s controversial ballroom construction will entail the demolition of the entire East Wing of the White House, according to a new report by The New York Times — a far more extensive change to the historic property than he originally promised.
The ballroom has been a pet project for the president, who boasted last month that it would be “absolutely magnificent construction” and “one of the best anywhere in the world,” but it has sparked significant controversy.
Trump has said the ballroom will be funded by private donors; the specifics remain murky and the endeavor has raised ethical questions about conflicts of interest.
Opponents of the project object to the lack of review and question why the plans were not submitted before work began.
What critics find most troubling, however, is the expansive nature of the plans and the president’s broken promise that the construction “won’t interfere with the current building” and would be “near [the East Wing] but not touching it.” Photos and video from Tuesday showed the construction crews had gone well beyond “interfering” with the East Wing; the façade was demolished and then an additional major section.
The White House has insisted that the National Capital Planning Commission, does not have the power to review demolition work, only construction, but that argument was lambasted by a former NCPC commissioner who told Reuters, “demolition really cannot be separated from the new construction that follows.”
According to the Times’ Luke Broadwater, a senior Trump administration official said that the White House would be “demolishing the entirety of the East Wing to make way” for the president’s ballroom.
The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the White House’s plans, added that the demolition was expected to be finished by the weekend.
This complete tear-down is a complete breach of Trump’s promise not to “interfere with the current building,” Broadwater’s reporting noted, but according to this official, “the White House determined it was cheaper and more structurally sound to demolish the East Wing to construct the ballroom, rather than build an addition,” and will add some “enhanced security features.”
Previous reporting by The Washington Post included a comment from a White House spokesperson that the “entirety” of the East Wing would be “modernized and rebuilt,” and noted that it did appear that the entire East Wing was slated for demolition:
One of the people who witnessed the demolition Tuesday said that views of the site from Treasury headquarters amplify the demolition, but a large part of the structure remained by late afternoon. However, it appeared that what remained was also headed for demolition, with no evidence that the structure was being protected and only jagged damage visible in the exposed building.
