Financial News

White House East Wing demolition nearly complete to make room for Trump ballroom

23 October 2025

Work continues on a largely demolished part of the East Wing of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.

Jacquelyn Martin | AP

The demolition of the White House East Wing is nearly complete as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with plans to build a massive ballroom, an administration official told NBC News Thursday.

Construction crews are now turning their attention to debris removal, the official said. Photos showed the building largely reduced to rubble.

Trump said Wednesday that the 90,000 square foot ballroom will cost $300 million, higher than the original estimated price tag of $200 million.

The president had promised in July that the ballroom would not impact the East Wing.

Construction workers, bottom right, atop the U.S. Treasury, watch as work continues on a largely demolished part of the East Wing of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.

Jacquelyn Martin | AP

“It’ll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said at the time.

When asked about the demolition on Wednesday, Trump said the East Wing was “very small” and “never thought of as being much.”

“In order to do it properly we had to take down the exising structure,” the president told reporters.

A senior White House official cited “structural reasons” for the decision to knock down East Wing when asked by CNBC on Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the administration was not required to submit plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for the demolition.

“Their general counsel has said when it comes to phase one of this project, the tearing down of the current East Wing structure, a submission is not required legally for that, only for vertical construction,” Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has said the construction will be financed with his own funds and by private corporate donors at no cost to the taxpayer. Donors include tech giants Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta.