Demolition of the White House East Wing commenced on October 20, 2025, as construction began on President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom project.
Images show heavy machinery tearing into the East Wing facade, with construction equipment ripping down the covered entrance that has welcomed visitors for decades for tours and special events.
“The ballroom is going to be beautiful. So, you’ll have drinks, cocktails, and everything else on this floor. And then they’ll say welcome to dinner. You walk into the ballroom, Mr. Senators, and you’re going to see a ballroom, the likes of which I don’t think will — I don’t think it’ll be topped. It’ll be — it’ll be the finest,” Trump said during an event honoring Louisiana State University baseball champions in the East Room.
On Truth Social, Trump announced that “ground has been broken” on the “new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,” declaring it a project that “every President has dreamt about having” for more than 150 years. He emphasized that the ballroom would come at “zero cost to the American Taxpayer,” being “privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly.”
There is no historical documentation that presidents over the past 150 years have “dreamt about” or consistently desired a dedicated ballroom at the White House. The desire for larger entertaining space appears to be primarily a Trump priority dating back approximately 15 years, not a longstanding presidential aspiration spanning a century and a half.
While Trump has not disclosed the amount of money he is contributing to the project, several high-profile donors, all of whom are looking for something from the Trump administration, have contributed to the ballroom and other ventures the President has asked them to.
The only corporation that has been named is YouTube, giving a $22 million settlement with Trump for banning his account to the ballroom project. Trump addressed other donors at a dinner with Blackstone, OpenAI, Microsoft, Coinbase, Palantir, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Amazon and Google in attendance.
Trump told many of these donors at an October 15 dinner, “So many of you have been really, really generous.” Discussions have included potentially engraving donor names inside the White House or listing them on a website as recognition, though no final decision has been made on this matter.
The East Wing was originally constructed in 1902 under Theodore Roosevelt and underwent a major renovation in 1942 under Franklin D. Roosevelt, when a second story was added. Built atop a bomb shelter that houses the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), the structure has traditionally served as the operational hub for the first lady and her staff.
The East Wing contains the Office of the First Lady, including positions such as the Chief of Staff, Communications Director, and Social Secretary, along with the White House Travel Office and White House Military Office. Staff members from First Lady Melania Trump’s office began relocating in preparation for the demolition earlier in October.
Trump initially pledged in July that his ballroom project “won’t interfere with the current building,” stating it would be “near it, but not touching it—and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.” However, by Monday’s demolition, Trump characterized the East Wing as “completely separate from the White House itself” and announced it would be “fully modernized as part of this process.”
The planned White House State Ballroom will span 90,000 square feet and accommodate between 650 to 999 guests.
Architectural renderings released by McCrery Architects depict a lavish neoclassical interior featuring gold chandeliers, coffered ceilings with gold inlays, ornate Corinthian columns, checkered marble floors, and three walls of arched windows overlooking the South Lawn. Trump indicated the ballroom will be equipped with bulletproof glass windows on all sides.
Clark Construction, awarded the contract in August 2025, leads the construction team, with AECOM providing engineering support. The project is expected to be complete in Jan. 2026.
