The White House defended its complete demolition of the East Wing, despite initially telling the public that its structure would not be touched to build President Donald Trump‘s proposed ballroom.
“This is going to be a magnificent addition to the White House for many years to come, and it’s not costing the taxpayers anything,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press briefing on Thursday.
Images of the final demolition of the East Wing show that it was completely torn down, despite the Trump administration initially saying that Trump’s $200 million ballroom to host dinners and parties–which will now cost $300 million–would not affect the building.
“With any construction project, changes come, and we have informed all of you. We’ve been keeping you apprised of this project,” said Leavitt.
The Trump spokesperson explained that the president changed his mind after receiving “counsel” from architects and construction companies.
“[They] said that in order for this East Wing to be modern and beautiful for many, many years to come, for it to be a truly strong and stable structure, this phase one that we’re now in was necessary, and the president wants to do right by the People’s House,” she said.
Leavitt also emphasized that the ballroom project will be privately funded by donors and President Trump himself. The White House also committed to providing a full and complete list of donors and the dollar amount of contributions, including Trump.
“The president has been incredibly transparent. I would reject any notion otherwise when it comes to this ballroom project,” she asserted.
CBS News White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang asked Leavitt if the president believes he can “tear down anything he wants without oversight,” noting that the White House didn’t submit construction plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees planning guidance for Washington, D.C., and the surrounding National Capital Region.
“It’s not the president who came up with that legal opinion himself. That’s a legal opinion that’s been held by the NCPC for many years,” Leavitt replied. “The tearing down of the current East Wing structure—a submission is not required legally for that; only for vertical construction will a submission be required.”
The press secretary also noted that several presidents have executed demolitions to modernize the White House, including President Richard Nixon, who turned a basement pool into the current James Brady Press Briefing Room. She showed reporters images of such renovations over the decades.
Since taking office, Trump has also made minor changes to the Oval Office with many accents of gold and renovated the Rose Garden, stripping its signature turf and replacing it with cement.
Former White House aids who spoke with theGrio have slammed Trump’s massive demolition of the East Wing, describing it as an unnecessary and costly “vanity project” while millions of Americans are facing high health care costs and other economic challenges.
“The destruction of the White House is the perfect metaphor for what the President has done to our country and the economy,” said Jeremy Edwards, former White House spokesperson and current advisor at The Century Foundation.
When asked if President Trump planned on making any other renovations to the White House, Leaviit said, “Not to my knowledge, no. But he’s a builder at heart, clearly, and so his heart and his mind is always churning about how to improve things here on the White House grounds.”
A name has yet to be determined for Trump’s massive ballroom. Leavitt told reporters, “The president will announce that once he firmly decides on it.”
