An advocacy group has sued the Trump administration over concerns the president’s sudden demolition of the White House East Wing exposed workers and the public to cancer-causing building materials.
President Donald Trump’s decision to secretly raze the East Wing to make way for his $400 million ballroom project quickly sparked concerns about asbestos, which was widely used in construction projects when the East Wing was built in 1902 and renovated in 1942.
But despite efforts from lawmakers, news organizations, and non-profits, the administration has refused to say what steps, if any, were taken to protect construction workers, staff, visitors, and passersby, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the non-profit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.
The group filed the suit to force the administration to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests sent to nine federal offices and agencies potentially involved in demolition.
The White House has previously said that “any hazardous material abatement was done in September” and that “a very extensive abatement and remediation assessment was followed, complying with all applicable federal standards.”
The carefully worded statement, sent to multiple news outlets including The Washington Post and ABC News, did not specify if any asbestos abatement activities had actually been undertaken.
“We want to know if they did it. Why can’t they just tell us — what’s the big secret here?” the ADAO’s leader, Linda Reinstein, told The Washington Post.
Reinstein, whose husband died in 2006 after being diagnosed with cancer following asbestos exposure, said her organization decided to seek answers after watching a cloud of dust billow from the construction site.
Unlike previous White House renovations, the Trump administration did not file any notification of asbestos abatement work with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, according to the Post.
Abatement paperwork was, however, filed with the city in connection with work done on the East Wing in 1997, 2017, and 2021.
The ADAO’s suit names five agencies and offices, including the Executive Office of the White House, the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Of the nine offices that received the organization’s FOIA requests, only the General Services Administration responded to the request with a letter saying it did not have any relevant records.
ACECO, the company that carried out the demolition, has also refused to answer questions about the project, according to the Post.
The White House has ignored a request from Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts to provide details on whether the construction debris has been tested for asbestos, and if so, whether it was sent to a disposal site equipped to manage asbestos waste.
“The administration is deceptive to the point of being dangerous to the American people,” Markey told the Post. “Transparency is anathema to Donald Trump.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
The first public hearing on the ballroom project will be Thursday, when the White House is scheduled to present the plans to a federal review panel.
Its cost has ballooned from $100 million to $400 million, with the new structure now projected to dwarf the main White House residence.
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