On Monday, October 20, 2025, the East Wing of the White House was transformed into a construction zone as crews began tearing down its iconic facade. The sound of heavy machinery echoed across the South Lawn, and by late afternoon, the long arm of an excavator had ripped through the covered entryway, leaving debris—window panes, concrete blocks, and tangled wires—scattered across the grounds. This dramatic scene marked the official start of President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to add a massive ballroom to the White House complex, a project he’s touted as the fulfillment of a century-and-a-half-old dream.
The vision for the new ballroom is nothing short of grand. Originally announced in July 2025, Trump’s plan calls for a 90,000-square-foot addition, a space capable of hosting nearly a thousand guests. According to ABC News, Trump described the project as a long-awaited upgrade: “They’ve wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I’m giving that honor to this wonderful place.” The president emphasized that the new structure would not interfere with the existing White House. “It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it, but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. It’s my favorite. It’s my favorite place,” he said during an executive order signing event in July.
Despite these assurances, the scale of the demolition on Monday was hard to ignore. Reporters from The Washington Post and BBC witnessed large portions of the East Wing’s south side being gutted, with cranes hovering and large chunks of the edifice missing. The covered entryway, a familiar sight for White House visitors, was reduced to rubble. Curious onlookers gathered nearby, some expressing concern. One woman, quoted by the BBC while gesturing at the White House, said, “I don’t like it. Look what he’s doing to it!”
For Trump, the ballroom project is more than just a construction effort—it’s a legacy move. At an event in the East Room honoring the NCAA national champion Louisiana State University baseball team, he pointed to the gold drapes and explained, “That’s a knockout panel. We knock it in. You go, that comes out, and then you have essentially glass, and exactly in the decor of the White House.” He added, “Right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically. It just started today.”
The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed during a late July briefing that the East Wing would be “modernized” as part of the project. “The necessary construction will take place,” she said, reiterating that the new ballroom would be “completely separate from the White House itself.” Trump echoed this sentiment on his social media platform, writing, “The East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!”
While the president has repeatedly insisted that the project will not alter the historic core of the White House, the reality on the ground is that the East Wing—the traditional domain of the first lady and her staff—is being fundamentally transformed. The East Wing was originally constructed in 1902 and underwent significant renovation in 1942, when a second story was added. According to CNN, the new ballroom will be built over this area, meaning that the offices and spaces long associated with first ladies will be reconfigured or relocated. In anticipation of the disruption, some of Melania Trump’s staff began boxing up their belongings and moving into other parts of the White House complex early last month, The Washington Post reported.
The scope and cost of the ballroom have also drawn attention. Trump has pegged the price tag at $250 million, though some outlets, like CNN, have cited a figure closer to $200 million. What’s clear is that the project is being funded entirely by private donors. “Ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,” Trump posted on social media. “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!” The president has said the funding comes from “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly.”
According to CBS News, the White House says the project has been fully funded by private contributions from businesses and big tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Coinbase. By September, several companies had pledged to donate $5 million or more for the addition. Earlier this month, donors were invited to a dinner at the White House, where Trump reportedly assured them the new space would be “in keeping” with the White House architecture and “appropriate in color and in window shape.”
Renderings released by the White House depict a vast, gilded space with gold and crystal chandeliers, Corinthian columns, a coffered ceiling with gold inlays, gold floor lamps, and a checkered marble floor. Three walls of arched windows will look out over the South Lawn. The ballroom is intended to hold 999 people—up from an initial estimate of 650—and will feature bulletproof glass windows on all sides, according to CBS News. The White House’s press release stated that the ballroom’s “theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical” to the existing neoclassical mansion.
The ballroom project is just one part of Trump’s broader efforts to leave his mark on the White House. Over the last several years, he has added large flagpoles, paved over the Rose Garden, and redecorated the Oval Office in gold. But the ballroom stands out as the largest renovation since President Harry S. Truman’s overhaul of the West Wing in the mid-20th century. As The Washington Post pointed out, it’s a scale of change rarely seen at the nation’s most famous address.
Trump, never one to shy away from bold moves, has a history of dramatic demolitions. In 1980, he famously tore down the Bonwit Teller building in Manhattan to make way for Trump Tower, breaking a promise to preserve its limestone friezes. “Who cares?” he said at the time when asked about the backlash. “Let’s say that I had given that junk to the Met. They would have just put them in their basement. I’ll never have the goodwill of the Establishment…”
Back in Washington, the president’s confidence in the ballroom project remains undimmed. At a recent dinner with donors, Trump recalled being told there were “zero zoning conditions” for the project. “Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals,” he was told. “I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”
As construction continues, the East Wing’s familiar silhouette will be replaced by something new and unmistakably Trumpian. Whether the new ballroom will be embraced as a long-overdue addition or criticized as an unnecessary extravagance remains to be seen. For now, the sound of demolition is a reminder that, for better or worse, history is being made on Pennsylvania Avenue.
