Rubble of History: East Wing of the White House is demolished
Trump’s new order makes history with brand new changes to the White House and adds a ballroom.
Photo courtesy of Matt H. Wade/Wikimedia Commons
In a sweeping and controversial move, President Trump has ordered the complete demolition of the White House's East Wing, a 123-year-old structure which holds significance to the United States’ First Ladies and landmark moments in American history. The budget for this project, as reported by Politico, is $250 million. President Trump made claims earlier this year that the ballroom addition would not damage the East Wing. Satellite images released by BBC on Oct. 24, 2025 showed the extent of the destruction. The ballroom is intended to be completed before President Trump leaves office in early 2029, however, as reported by Daily Mail, there has been no “specific timeline” offered.
The East Wing was initially constructed in 1902 during President Theodore Roosevelt's administration as a carriage entrance for foreign dignitaries. Expanded in the 1940s by Franklin D. Roosevelt to hide an underground bunker for a Presidential Emergency Operations Center, the East Wing has also served as the center of First Ladies' programs, with offices for notable First Ladies as Eleanor Roosevelt, who started her "My Day" newspaper column,, and Jacqueline Kennedy, whose namesake garden thrived just outside its doors, as detailed by the New York Times
The criticism of the new ballroom has been swift and bipartisan, though seemingly sharper from democrats. Former Secretary of State and First Lady, Hillary Clinton, posted on X, "It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it." Public opinion, as measured in a The Hill survey which was released on Wednesday of last week, suggests that 53 percent of Americans view the demolition in a negative light, 24 percent approve of the construction, and the other 24 percent said they were unsure of their feelings.
Yougov.com polls have reported that 23 percent of republicans disapprove completely or somewhat, 18 percent remain unsure of their stance, and 58 percent approve of the changes. Stephanie Grisham, the former press secretary to President Donald Trump and aide to first lady Melania Trump, lamented the loss in an interview with CNN, saying, "The East Wing was a breath of fresh air from the chaos of the West Wing. Seeing it destroyed is seeing family heirlooms broken."
"Over the years, a lot of presidents have changed things," current President Trump said in an interview. "This is America, we build big." Over the last 100 years the White House has been changed and renovated several times. The year of 1817 marked the rebuilding of the White House after the British burned the structure down. 1902 saw former president Theodore Roosevelt’s renovation, which established the West Wing for the President and his staff. 1952 marked the completion of former president Harry S. Truman’s renovation, when he rebuilt the White House from the inside. Calvin Coolidge, during his administration, added a third floor to the White House in 1927.
Still, for skeptics of the proposed ballroom, such as Stewart McLaurin, the president of the White House Historical Association, the price is more than dollars: "The East Wing wasn't secretive or flashy. It was the quiet heart of the people's house." With cranes towering over the White House, the nation sees an emblem of continuity reduced to foundation, creating questions around what parts of American political history in the White House will remain standing after the construction.