Demolition continued Wednesday at the White House to make way for President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom, but the renovation is much more extensive than he had let on.
While Trump had said in July that the ballroom would not “interfere” with the existing building (it would be “close to but not touching it”), a White House official confirmed to ABC News that “the entire East Wing will be modernized.”
The extent of the demolition was first reported by Washington Postwhich released new photos Tuesday showing bulldozers leveling most of the East Wing, which had been home to the first lady’s office, the White House military office and more.
A taller, seven-foot fence could be seen around the east wing site Wednesday, helping to block the demolition from public view.
Demolition work continues on a portion of the East Wing of the White House on October 21, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the construction of a new ballroom.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
A White House official said the East Wing was being “modernized” from its 1902 and 1942 constructions to support the ballroom project and the future home of the East Wing. The scope and size of the project, the official said, has always been subject to change as the process developed.
The First Lady’s Office and other components of the East Wing have been relocated to the White House complex within the White House and Eisenhower Executive Office Building, according to a White House official.
Trump has always wanted to build a White House ballroom similar to the one at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Mockups of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom were unveiled this summer, and Trump said construction would be paid for by him and unnamed donors. Since then, the administration has said little about who exactly is funding the project, raising ethical and legal questions.
Trump indicated earlier this week that once the project is completed, people could walk directly from the East Room of the White House to the ballroom, suggesting that Construction will touch the current White House. – something Trump himself had previously said would not happen.
A window hangs from the East Wing as demolition work continues on a portion of the East Wing of the White House, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington, ahead of construction of a new ballroom.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
This week’s construction unleashed a torrent of criticism.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton weighed in Tuesday, writing in X that Trump is “destroying” the White House.
“It’s not his house. It’s your house. And it is destroying it,” Clinton wrote.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sent a letter White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf, whom Trump also named to head the National Capital Planning Commission, an executive branch agency that provides planning guidance and reviews development proposals, expressing concerns about the demolition and ballroom plan, calling for a pause.
Remodeling of the East Wing of the White House
Google Earth
“While the National Trust recognizes the usefulness of a larger meeting space in the White House, “We are deeply concerned that the mass and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself (it is 55,000 square feet) and may also permanently alter the carefully balanced classic design of the White House with its two smaller, lower east and west wings,” wrote Dr. Carol Quillen, the trust’s president.
The nonprofit urged the administration to “pause demolition until the plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Fine Arts Commission, and inviting public comment.”
Plans for the ballroom have not yet been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, even though demolition is already underway. A White House official confirmed to ABC News that the White House still have the intention present plans for construction to the commission.
Crews tear down the East Wing of the White House as construction begins on the ballroom of President Trump’s White House, in Washington, on October 22, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz/EPA/Shutterstock
The facade of the East Wing of the White House is demolished by work crews on October 22, 2025 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The White House defended the renovation and construction of the new ballroom in a long press conference on Tuesday. release stating that the project is “a bold and necessary addition that echoes the commanders in chief’s history of improvements and additions to maintain the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing on Fox News “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Tuesday, called the reaction “false outrage” and said previous presidents also made changes in the White House.
“He’s the builder in chief, in large part he got elected back to this House of People because he’s good at building things. He’s done it his whole life, his whole career,” Leavitt said. “And construction is a process. In the end, the East Wing, which is a completely separate structure from the Executive Mansion you see behind me, will be more modern and beautiful than ever. And on top of that, the White House will have a large, beautiful ballroom for generations of Americans to come.”
But according to a Wall Street Journal reportThe Treasury Department (located next to the renovation site) has ordered employees not to share photos of the demolition.
Trump, hosting Senate Republicans for a lunch Tuesday at his newly renovated Rose Garden Club, celebrated the construction of the ballroom.
“You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction in the back. Do you hear that? Oh, that’s music to my ears,” Trump said. “I love that sound. Other people don’t like it, I love it.”
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
