Absent from the White House’s continued demolition of the facade of the East Wing is necessary approvals from the office that oversees similar projects at most federal buildings in the Washington area, the Associated Press reported. Images began circulating Monday of machinery ripping away a portion of the East Wing that will connect with a $250 million ballroom proposed by President Donald Trump.
Trump and the White House have said the project would create a 650-person event space, where the president could host foreign leaders and other dignitaries for events like state dinners and inaugural balls.
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“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,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.
The project, however, has not yet been approved by the National Capital Planning Commission.
It is unclear whether the White House has submitted plans to the commission. Its chairman — Will Scharf, who is also a White House staff secretary and one of Trump’s top aides — told commissioners at a September meeting that the commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over the “demolition and site preparation work” for federal buildings on federal property.
However, the 12-member commission is responsible for construction. The commission canceled its Oct. 9 meeting as the government shutdown halted its proceedings, according to the body’s website.
“Any assertion that this commission should have been consulted earlier than it has been or that it will be is simply false and represents a misunderstanding of this commission’s role in that project,” Scharf said.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt oversaw construction of the East Wing in 1942, which concealed the creation of the presidential bunker.
Federal commission and White House projects
The commission has historically worked with the Committee for Preservation of the White House and the National Park Service on projects, including the tennis pavilion and fencing improvements, Scharf said in the September meeting.
For the ballroom, he said, the commission will review plans and then loop in the White House preservation committee, the park service and other relevant bodies.
“I’m excited for us to play a role in the ballroom project when the time is appropriate for us to do so,” he said.
Trump and the White House noted the 999-seat ballroom project is funded by private donors. He told donors at a dinner in mid-October that the project’s price tag had risen from $200 million to $250 million. A full list of donors hasn’t yet been released.
The Society of Architectural Historians expressed concerns about the project and said it should have undergone a “rigorous and deliberate design and review process.” The society has promoted recommendations by the American Institute of Architects to improve the ballroom, conduct historical preservation reviews of the East Wing, evaluate the impact on White House grounds and consider the broader effects on historic preservation.
“Any project at the White House, whether it involves interior renovation, changes to the landscape, or a new exterior addition, acts as a national precedent in the treatment of historic properties,” the society wrote. “Recognizing this, we urge the White House to carefully consider our recommendations so that the project can have a positive influence on preservation practice, policies and procedures across the nation.”
