Trump demolished White House East Wing for $300M donor-funded ballroom

Demolition began October 20, 2025 without National Capital Planning Commission review, triggering lawsuit from National Trust for Historic Preservation

Trump announced the ballroom project July 31, 2025 with $200 million estimate; costs rose to $300 million by October demolition as scope expanded

Thirty-seven private donors fund the project through Trust for the National Mall, including AAApple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin

Alphabet (Google) contributing $22 million as settlement from Trump lawsuit over YouTube banning him after January 6, 2021 riot

Clark Construction awarded the contract in August 2025 with AECOM as engineer and McCrery Architects (later replaced by Shalom Baranes) as designer

Design calls for 90,000-square-foot limestone-clad structure with tall arched windows, ballistic-resistant glazing, and neoclassical architecture

FDR built the original East Wing in 1942 to house wartime staff and cover construction of underground Presidential Emergency Operations Center bunker

Eleanor Roosevelt used East Wing office space for activism meetings with groups from Girl Scouts to Women Trade Union League

YouGov poll October 22, 2025 showed 53% of Americans disapproved of demolition versus 24% approving

Federal judge allowed construction to continue while imposing limited requirements, ruling Trump has executive authority under 1966 exemption

White House exempt from National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which normally requires review for federal construction projects

Senate Minority Leader CSChuck Schumer called it vanity project showing Trump focused on ego rather than healthcare or government operations