East Wing reduced to rubble as Trump touts expanded 90,000‑sq‑ft White House ballroom
Demolition of the East Wing and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is underway, with photos showing rubble at the site as construction that began in October advances toward a planned 90,000‑sq‑ft ballroom with a 999‑person capacity. The project, now pegged at $300 million and said by the White House to be privately funded (a donor list names 37 contributors), has added Shalom Baranes Associates as lead architect while McCrery Architects remains a consultant, and plans are expected to be submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission this month.
📌 Key Facts
- New site photos (Dec. 8) show the former East Wing area reduced to rubble; construction began in October and demolition has included the East Wing and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, with heavy machinery on site.
- The planned ballroom is about 90,000 square feet — nearly double the size of the main White House — and is being described as having capacity for 999 people; President Trump has said the ballroom will be “double the size” of original plans and that the “column span has been substantially increased.”
- The project cost is now estimated at $300 million (up from a $200 million estimate reported in July).
- The White House and President Trump say the ballroom will be privately funded by donors and the president (no taxpayer dollars), and the White House has released a donor list that includes 37 named donors.
- The White House has added Shalom Baranes Associates to lead the next phase and oversee the ballroom design while McCrery Architects remains a consultant; White House spokesperson Davis Ingle has issued on‑record statements praising Baranes and framing the project as a major addition.
- NCPC Chair Will Scharf said the White House is expected to submit formal ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission later in December and that the commission will review them at a “normal and deliberative pace.”
- President Trump has publicly said the project is “under budget and ahead of schedule,” has acknowledged ongoing construction noise, and has asserted the ballroom will be completed before the end of his term, though no new firm completion date has been provided.
📊 Relevant Data
56% of Americans oppose President Trump's plan to replace the White House's East Wing with a $300 million ballroom, while 28% support it.
Americans oppose Trump's White House ballroom by 2-to-1 ratio — Politico
58% of Republicans approve of the East Wing demolition for the ballroom project, compared to only 7% of Democrats, while 23% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats disapprove.
What Americans think about the East Wing demolition — YouGov
The donor list for the $300 million White House ballroom includes major corporations such as Altria Group, Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, and Coinbase.
Meet all 37 White House ballroom donors funding the $300 million — Fortune
The demolition exploits a decades-old exemption in preservation laws that allows the president to fast-track White House changes without standard public reviews.
The decades-old exemption that lets Trump fast-track White House ballroom — BBC
📰 Sources (5)
- New site photos (Dec. 8) show the former East Wing area is now rubble as demolition advances.
- Trump said the ballroom will be “double the size” of what was originally planned and that the “column span has been substantially increased.”
- Trump claimed the project is “under budget and ahead of schedule,” but did not provide a new completion date.
- He emphasized that no taxpayer dollars are being used and reiterated that the East Wing and Jacqueline Kennedy Garden were taken down for the project.
- White House says President Trump has hired Shalom Baranes Associates to lead the next phase and oversee the ballroom design; McCrery Architects remains a consultant.
- Construction began in October and included demolition of the White House’s East Wing, with heavy machinery on site (photos referenced).
- Project cost is now pegged at $300 million, up from a $200 million estimate in July.
- Named White House spokesperson Davis Ingle provided on‑record statements praising Baranes and framing the project as the 'greatest addition since the Oval Office.'
- Trump, in a cabinet meeting, acknowledged constant construction noise and said the ballroom will be completed before the end of his term.
- White House added Shalom Baranes as a second architectural firm for the ballroom project as it moves into a new phase; McCrery Architects remains as a consultant.
- White House spokesperson Davis Ingle issued a detailed statement praising Shalom Baranes and confirming the design team changes.
- NCPC chair Will Scharf reiterated at the Dec. 4 meeting that the White House will file plans in December and the commission will review them at a 'normal and deliberative pace.'
- Article notes construction began roughly three months ago and the donor list released by the White House includes 37 named donors.
- NCPC Chair Will Scharf said the White House is expected to submit ballroom plans to the commission later this month.
- Planned ballroom size is 90,000 square feet, nearly double the main White House, with capacity for 999 people.
- Estimated price tag is $300 million, higher than initial projections.
- President Trump says the project will be privately funded by donors and himself, not taxpayers.