Federal Architecture and Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to halt demolition of the White House East Wing and construction of a $400 million ballroom, alleging the Trump administration began tearing down the wing before required independent reviews, congressional approval and public comment; White House officials say severe structural defects made demolition and reconstruction the most economical option and have proposed a roughly 90,000‑square‑foot addition (including a 22,000‑square‑foot ballroom) with possible changes to the West Wing colonnade, drawing sharp questions from NCPC and Commission of Fine Arts members about scale, process and visual impact. At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon expressed skepticism that the president has authority to authorize the project or that the privately routed funding through the National Park Service circumvents congressional oversight, calling the arrangement a “Rube Goldberg” scheme and signaling he may pause the work pending a February ruling.