White house east wing demolished to make way for ballroom | ABC NEWS
Heavy machinery continues to tear through the White House’s East Wing, even though plans for Trump’s ballroom project have not yet been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal building construction. The plans will be submitted, according to a White House official speaking to Reuters.
Critics say that a review of the project should have taken place before demolition work began.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation urged the administration to pause the demolition, expressing concern that at 90,000 square feet, the proposed ballroom would overwhelm the White House itself which is only 55,000 square feet.
When asked why the demolition was occurring, in spite of reassurance from Trump that demolition work would not affect the existing building, the official said that the East Wing required modernisation work.
Trump has made extensive cosmetic changes to the White House already, including gold ornamentation for the Oval Office, and having the rose garden shaped into the style of his golf clubs.
The current East Wing was built in 1942, during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, over a bunker built for the president in case of an emergency during the upcoming World War.
Original reporting by Reuters. Social version by Madeleine Wales for ABC News Digital.
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