Khaberni -
The White House began, on Monday, the demolition of part of the East Wing, which serves as the traditional quarters of the First Lady, to build a ballroom President Donald Trump wants at a cost of 250 million dollars, despite not obtaining the approval of a federal agency overseeing such projects.
Photos of the demolition showed construction equipment breaching the facade of the East Wing, with windows and other parts of the building scattered on the ground, while some journalists watched the process from a park near the adjacent Treasury Department, according to the Associated Press.
Trump announced the construction work in a post on social media, mentioning the project while welcoming the 2025 University Baseball League champions in the East Room, saying the work was happening "right behind us."
Trump added: "We have a lot of construction activity going on, you might hear it from time to time... It just started today."
The White House is proceeding with this major project although it has not yet received approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, the body that approves construction and major renovations in Washington D.C. government buildings.
Will Sharp, the chairperson of the Commission, who is also the White House Chief of Staff and one of Trump's senior advisers, stated during a Commission meeting in September that the agency does not have authority over demolition or site preparation in federal buildings.
Sharp added: "What we are dealing with is essentially the vertical construction."
The Republican President said in July, when announcing the project, that the hall would not touch the presidential mansion itself: "It will be close to it but will not touch it, and completely respects the existing building which I am a great fan of."
The East Wing includes a number of offices, among them the First Lady’s offices, which were constructed in 1902 and have been expanded and renovated over the years, with a second floor added in 1942, according to the White House.
Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, stated that these offices would be temporarily moved during the construction, and that this part of the building would be subject to modernization and renovation.
Levitt declared in July upon announcing the project: "Nothing will be demolished."
Trump insists that presidents have wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and he is adding the massive glass space, spanning 90,000 square feet because the East Room, which is the largest in the White House and can only accommodate about 200 people, is too small.
He also said he dislikes the idea of hosting kings, presidents, and prime ministers in tents on the South Lawn.
Trump stated in his announcement on social media that the project will be completed "at no cost to the American taxpayer! The White House ballroom is being funded by many generous patriots and great American companies and me as well."
The new ballroom will be the most significant structural change to the executive mansion since the addition of the Truman Balcony overlooking the South Lawn in 1948, even surpassing the mansion itself in size.
At a dinner last week for some wealthy business people funding the $250 million project, Trump said the project had expanded in size to now accommodate 999 people, up from the 650 capacity announced in July.
The White House said it would later reveal the names of the financiers who contributed to the construction of the hall, but it has not done so yet.
