Trump administration plans to demolish White House’s entire East Wing as ballroom cost grows to $300 million

The Trump administration is planning to demolish the entirety of the White House’s East Wing as early as this weekend, two senior administration officials told CBS News, part of a project championed by President Trump to add a ballroom to the complex.

Mr. Trump said Wednesday that the ballroom will cost $300 million — up from the $200 million figure that White House officials initially cited. The White House says the project will be funded entirely by private donors, some of whom have pledged seven or eight figures.

Construction crews were spotted tearing down part of the East Wing’s facade earlier this week.

The demolition work marks a reversal from earlier this year, when Mr. Trump said the 90,000-square-foot ballroom project “won’t interfere with the current building.” The East Wing was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942. 

It was always the case that the East Wing would need to be “modernized” to enhance security and technology, administration officials said. But during the process of planning the new ballroom, it became apparent that the best option would be to demolish the entire structure.

Earlier this week, the demolition focused on a portion of the East Wing that includes first lady Melania Trump’s offices and dozens of other workspaces, according to sources familiar with the matter. The East Wing’s movie theater will also be modernized, an official said.

The work has affected the White House visitors’ office, which handles public tours and events. Tours of the building — which typically start in the East Wing — have been suspended for about two months due to the construction, though officials say they expect to accommodate an updated tour route in the coming days.

The bunker under the East Wing will also be upgraded, sources told CBS News. The White House Military Office is handling the renovation of the bunker, which is known as the President’s Emergency Operations Center.

The changes have drawn pushback from some historic groups. Earlier this week, the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation urged the administration to hold off on further demolition until the ballroom can go through a public review process, arguing the massive addition “will overwhelm the White House itself.”

A White House official said construction plans for the ballroom will be submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission. Administration officials say there are three key stages in the process of building on federal property — preservation, demolition and construction — and the planning commission typically isn’t involved until the construction phase.

Bryan Green, a Biden-era former member of the National Capital Planning Commission, confirmed to CBS News that the organization usually isn’t consulted on demolitions — but he noted that it is atypical for a demolition to be separated from a construction application. He argued that projects like the ballroom should be presented to the commission early.

“This is part of our heritage. This is part of our story as Americans,” he said of the White House complex. “And we deserve to have that conversation about its fate and what happens to it.”

And for tourists outside the White House, the modifications to the complex have drawn reactions as polarizing as people’s views on Mr. Trump himself.

“It’s so funny, they are saying how Trump’s destroying everything. Go back through history, all the different presidents,” Joe Thompson told CBS News, pointing to other changes to the White House. “He’s adding his touch, and it’s going to be beautiful when it’s done. Absolutely beautiful.” 

“I think it’s disgraceful,” said Mark, a retired physician. “It’s a desecration, really. … I don’t know that anybody particularly wants a big ballroom. And even for those people who did want it, the promise was that the White House wasn’t going to be touched.”

The White House has called pushback against the ballroom project “manufactured outrage,” noting that many former presidents have modified the building.

Mr. Trump first teased plans to build a ballroom over the summer, the most dramatic in a series of changes he’s made to the White House, from turning the Rose Garden into a patio to adding gilded decorations to the Oval Office. He has also discussed building a massive triumphal arch in Virginia, across the river from the Lincoln Memorial.

The administration has argued that the ballroom project will allow the White House to more easily host major functions like state dinners.

But some Democrats have criticized the plans and questioned whether donors — which include major tech companies — are getting anything in return. Democratic Rep. Mark Takano of California blasted reports that donors’ names could be etched into the ballroom’s bricks.

“This is the White House — it’s an emblem of our nation,” Takano told CBS News last week. “It’s not like a NASCAR tournament, where all the sponsors are going to get their name emblazoned someplace.”