President Donald Trump’s so-called renovation of the White House to make way for his massive ballroom will gut more of the historic building than he first suggested.
The White House has revealed to The Washington Post that the “entirety” of the East Wing will be “modernized and rebuilt,” although Trump said back in July that the construction of his $250 million ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building.” ”
Cranes and backhoes began ripping away the façade of the East Wing on Monday. By Tuesday, a photo obtained by the Post showed major sections of the building destroyed.
The demolition of the East Wing—which houses office space for the first lady—directly contradicts the president’s claim in July that construction on his vanity project would leave the existing White House untouched.
“It’ll be near it but not touching it—and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” the 79-year-old former real estate developer said at the time.
The White House had also previously assured the public that the Mar-a-Lago-style ballroom would be “substantially separated” from the main White House.
But earlier this week, Trump said that people would be able to “walk into” the ballroom from the White House East Room by way of a “knockout panel … that goes right into” the new space.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Amid outcry over the scale of the East Wing teardown and the lack of usual federal commission approvals for the ballroom, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt sneered at the backlash as “fake outrage” while Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung dismissed it as “pearl clutching.”
The beginning of something beautiful. pic.twitter.com/nXIJZm4qE5
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) October 20, 2025
But the Trump administration has attempted to conceal the extent of the damage to the East Wing, which was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942, from public disclosure, instructing federal employees with a view of the demolition not to share photos.
As of Wednesday, a seven-foot fence is blocking the presidential construction site from public view.
Trump’s team has also pointed out that past presidents have also overseen renovations and modernizations of the “people’s house.” The “builder-in-chief” says that the project will be paid for by him and private donors.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will be the largest renovation to the White House in decades, and is set to dwarf the Executive Residence, ending up nearly double its size, according to the Associated Press.
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