Since President Trump announced his plan to build a White House ballroom this summer, members of his administration have made contradictory remarks about what that means for the East Wing.
In July, Trump promised the project “won’t interfere with the current building. It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.” Yet, that same month, the White House issued a press release stating, “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.”
Understandably, people were caught off guard when they saw a backhoe tearing through the outer façade of the East Wing on October 20.
The administration’s stance on what the public is supposed to know about this project has been similarly confusing. Trump frequently talks about the ballroom and even alluded to the demolition during an unrelated White House event on Monday, saying, “You know, we’re building right behind us, we’re building a ballroom.”
However, after images of the White House destruction went viral, the Treasury Department instructed employees not to share photos of the view from its headquarters, which is next to the East Wing.
The Wall Street Journal reported: “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,” according to a Treasury official.
A Treasury Department spokesman explained that the email was sent because photos could “potentially reveal sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details.”
Despite this, images of the East Wing in ruins couldn’t have been that sensitive — especially since White House communications director Steven Cheung himself posted a photo.
By Tuesday, the Treasury Department’s apparent attempt to conceal the extent of the White House destruction had backfired completely. Multiple media outlets ran live feeds showing the East Wing’s walls crumbling to the ground. If anything, the restriction only drew more attention to the secrecy surrounding the ballroom project.
While the White House has provided vague descriptions of the project, detailed architectural plans have not been released. Moreover, federal law requires that the National Capital Planning Commission vet even relatively minor construction and renovation projects at the White House. Yet, this ballroom project has not been submitted to the board.
This oversight may sound illegal, and indeed experts have alleged that the White House is violating federal law by moving forward with the ballroom project without proper approval.
However, Will Scharf, the Trump-appointed chair of the National Capital Planning Commission and a top White House aide, recently claimed that the board only has jurisdiction over construction at federal buildings — not destruction.
Adding to the controversy, Steven Cheung dismissed concerns over the lack of oversight, labeling critics worried about destroying the “People’s House” without review as “losers” anyway.
Previous presidents must be surprised to learn that Team Trump would be totally comfortable bulldozing huge sections of the White House.
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