Under President Donald Trump’s orders, workers began demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new golden ballroom on Monday, Oct. 20.
The demolition of the East Wing, which was the site of the first lady’s office and staff, is happening so Trump can build a golden ballroom. The demolition and planned addition led to some people protesting the loss of a place for women in politics without any submission of demolition or construction plans, while others say that it was time for a change.
The East Wing of the White House is the traditional center of power for women, and over the last 123 years, it has been where First Ladies and their staff work on projects, such as Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign to increase literacy. It played a role in creating a space for women in politics, beginning in the 1940s with its expansion overseen by Eleanor Roosevelt as an operational center for activism. Roosevelt took a public role, advocating for civil rights and improved welfare. In time, the East Wing became a professional space for first ladies to pursue their work. Later, in the 1970s, Rosalynn Carter solidified the East Wing’s political affiliation when she became the First Lady to officially establish the Office of the First Lady.
Trump said the construction on the East Wing is “a very small building that was in the way of his 90,000-square-foot, $300 million ballroom.” In July, Trump said there wouldn’t be any changes to the White House’s infrastructure during the ballroom’s construction. The White House has not submitted formal ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Committee (NCPC), the federal agency with jurisdiction over federal construction projects in the D.C. area. Officials stated that plans will be submitted “soon,” despite the demolition already being complete. The administration tried to separate the demolition from the construction, claiming that paperwork is only needed for the construction phase.
Along with several other properties, the White House is exempt from historic preservation rules because of the National Historic Preservation Act.
One Virginia couple filed a lawsuit to halt the demolition, and numerous politicians, preservationist groups and the public have protested the demolition. Filed in a federal court on Oct. 23, the lawsuit claims that the administration failed to secure legally required approvals or reviews. Public upset continued to gain traction with comments from political figures such as Hillary Clinton, former first lady and Secretary of State for former President Barack Obama, posting on social media: “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
On the other hand, some are in favor of the demolition, agreeing that it is time for a change. Some find it unreasonable that Trump is being bashed for this reconstruction when, “Almost every president has wished to have more space for entertaining,” and “diplomatically, if you can get more people in there, you can enhance the prestige of the United States.”
Although this is the first demolition, Trump made other changes to the White House. He redecorated the Oval Office, adding gold portraits and busts. He also converted The Rose Garden into a stone patio. He decorated an exterior wall with photos of every past president, except his most recent predecessor, Joe Biden. Instead of Biden, Trump added a framed photo of an auto pen, “a reference to Trump’s frequent allegation that the former president was addled by the end of his term in office and not really the one making decisions.”
As the lawsuit from Virginia and public outcry continue to unfold, it remains to be seen how this vision will be recieved by the American people and what this means for the legacy of the Trump administration.
