Demolition begins to replace White House East Wing with Trump’s ballroom
Demolition of the East Wing began Monday at the White House, where President Donald Trump is building a new ballroom.
CNN observed an excavator tearing down portions of the East Wing, and close-up video and images captured areas of the roof torn down and an excavator tearing through the interior.
Renderings earlier released by the White House showed that the ballroom, which the administration has said will be funded by Trump and other private donors, would be built over this area.
Trump commented on the construction during an event celebrating the LSU and LSU Shreveport baseball champions in the White House’s East Room on Monday.
“You know, we’re building right behind us — we’re building a ballroom. They wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I’m giving that honor to this wonderful place,” Trump said. “I didn’t know I’d be standing here right now, because right on the other side, you have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically.”
Workers demolish the facade of the East Wing of the White House on October 20, 2025. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
At a recent dinner with high-dollar ballroom donors, Trump said the $200 million, 90,000-square-foot space would be “in keeping” with the White House architecture. He said it will be “appropriate in color and in window shape.”
“There won’t be anything like it actually. … You know, a new thing is you build a super modern building next to an old-fashioned building, and I think that’s good, but I don’t have the courage to do that with the White House,” he said.
During the dinner, the president said he was told there were “zero zoning conditions” set for the project.
“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’” Trump recalled. “‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”
