Demolition crews began work at the White House Monday, tearing down part of the East Wing for a new ballroom. President Donald Trump has called it a “ballroom for the country,” but what’s drawing attention is where it’s being built.
The demolition comes a few weeks after construction officially began. In September, crews were on site to cut down trees, remove shrubs and dig up portions of the South Lawn.
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Now, demolition efforts have started, despite the president previously suggesting the project wouldn’t interfere with the existing White House. On Monday, The Washington Post reported a backhoe was tearing through the East Wing, home to the First Lady’s office.
‘Refrain from taking photos’
After The Wall Street Journal shared photos of the construction, the news organization learned that the Treasury Department ordered employees not to share photos of the demolition.
The Journal viewed the email to department employees on Monday. It 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 project
The $250 million expansion will increase the size of the White House by nearly 90,000 square feet, more than tripling the East Room.
The president thanked a room full of donors at the White House last week, saying, “The ballroom for the White House is the thing that you people have really, really been very generous with. And we’re going to build a room that’s going to be able to hold literally the inauguration if we want. All of the glass on the sides is bulletproof.”
The president said the new ballroom is fully funded by private donations from major U.S. companies.
White House officials have called it modernization. But critics said it’s the most drastic change to the people’s house in a hundred years.
