Washington furious over Trump's East Wing demo
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Workers demolish the facade of the East Wing on Monday. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The sight of bulldozers smashing into the White House's East Wing — almost three weeks into a federal shutdown — is sending shockwaves among certain circles in Washington, with some wondering: Is this even allowed?
Why it matters: President Trump originally claimed his ballroom project wouldn't "interfere" with the current White House structure.
- And the $250 million addition — which POTUS is funding — seems to be increasing in scope: Trump said it'll fit 999 people when it's finished by the end of his term, up from original estimates of 650.
State of play: The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is the agency that has to green-light work on area government buildings. A White House spokesperson tells Axios that it hasn't submitted the ballroom plans to the agency yet, "but will be soon."
- Demolition isn't in NCPC's purview, a NCPC spokesperson told Axios last month. The agency is currently closed because of the government shutdown.
- The White House Historical Association (WHHA) — a private group that helps fund and protect the White House's permanent artifacts collection — isn't responsible for reviewing or OK-ing changes to the building's structure, a spokesperson tells Axios.
What they're saying: Online commenters have piled onto Aceco, a Maryland-based contracting group whose name was seen on equipment during the demolition, and the company has scrubbed its digital footprint, according to the Washington Business Journal.
- Locally based groups McCrery Architects and Clark Construction are involved in the ballroom project, although Clark didn't respond to an Axios inquiry about whether it's participating in the demolition.
Some Democrats are calling out Trump for kicking off an expensive project amid a government shutdown and a fledgling economy.
- "Ripping apart the White House just like he's ripping apart the Constitution," Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Ca.) posted on X with a picture of the demo.
- "Oh you're trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can't hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posted on X.
Meanwhile, groups like the Society of Architectural Historians and the American Institute of Architects are calling for meticulous oversight of the project.
The other side: Trumpworld is clapping back.
- "Construction has always been a part of the evolution of the White House," White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X. "Losers who are quick to criticize need to stop their pearl clutching and understand the building needs to be modernized."
As for the ballroom's expanded scope, its size was anticipated to be fluid as the project progressed, a White House spokesperson tells Axios.
- The administration is preserving and storing historical elements from the East Wing — like objects from Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter's office — alongside the National Park Service and the White House Historical Association.
Reality check: While there hasn't been a White House renovation this big since the Truman Balcony on the South Lawn was built in 1948, glow ups at the Executive Manse are hardly unprecedented.
And Trump isn't the first Commander-in-Chief to get backlash for switching things up.
- Horticulturists attacked Theodore Roosevelt for clearing plant-growing houses to create the West Wing, according to the White House Historical Association, writes Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel.
- And Truman's pricey, now-iconic balcony was criticized as frivolous in a post-war economy.
Go deeper: Don the Builder: Inside Trump's White House makeover