Construction workers involved in the demolition of the East Wing of the White House have signed non-disclosure agreements and are not permitted to speak to the press.
Workers who did respond to press inquiries told reporters, “we’re not allowed to answer questions” and “everything has to go through the White House press office,” CNN reports.
Others said they had signed NDAs that legally prevent them from sharing confidential information. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
A White House official who spoke to CNN said NDAs were routine, particularly as some contractors require security clearances because “there are aspects of the project that deal with operational security on campus.”
Treasury employees have also been ordered not to document the demolition, receiving an email on Monday that read, “As construction proceeds on the White House grounds, employees should refrain from taking and sharing photographs of the grounds, to include the East Wing, without prior approval from the Office of Public Affairs.” The Treasury is located next to the East Wing.
Trump’s White House renovations reached dramatic new heights this week as it emerged that the president was demolishing the entirety of the East Wing of the White House to accommodate his $300 million ballroom.
In addition, satellite imagery revealed that the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, dedicated to the first lady after her husband’s assassination, has also been destroyed, prompting her grandson Jack Schlossberg to criticize the president’s destructive tendencies.
“My grandmother saw America in full color — Trump sees black and white. Where she planted flowers, he poured concrete. She brought life to the White House, because our landmarks should inspire and grow with our country,” Schlossberg wrote on Instagram.
Many other Democrats have condemned Trump’s renovations, including Chelsea Clinton, who lived at the White House during her father’s presidency and who wrote in an opinion piece that she “always knew it wasn’t my house. The White House belongs to the American people, and that’s why we call it the People’s House. I never forgot that.”
“A disregard for history is a defining trait of President Trump’s second administration… What was dismantled today isn’t just marble or plaster; it is a reflection of how easily history can be erased when power forgets purpose.”
Historic preservation groups have also criticized the renovations, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation penning a letter arguing that the changes could “overwhelm the White House” and “may permanently disrupt [its] carefully balanced classical design.”
The Trump administration has responded to the growing backlash by updating the official White House website to feature references to controversies that occurred on its grounds during previous administrations.
The revamped website also highlights the president’s other renovations to the White House, including installation of new flagpoles and his controversial Rose Garden renovations that saw the iconic garden transformed into a concrete patio.
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