White House's East Wing partially demolished as work begins on $250M ballroom

[blitzar]

Thank god they got rid of fraud, waste and/or abuse.

[xnx]

And lowered the price of groceries

[disposition2]

The GOP being mum about the razing (with zero outside review) of a building built during the administration of Teddy Roosevelt…to build a ballroom that only one man wishes for…is probably one of the more apropos events regarding our current affairs.

[chromehearts]

Glad the average American's tax money is well spent on servicing the public good

[nailer]

The source of funding is mentioned in the article.

[metalman]

they cut down 250 year old trees for this when there exist simple reliable methods to transplant very large old trees

I wonder if now there will be an accident™, and the whole place will burn down and then they have no choice but to build something "better".....

edit:....temporarily in florida

[xtiansimon]

NPR Morning Edition today reported:

01:45 “The National Capital Planning Commission would typically have a role in approving a project like this. But the newly appointed chair of that commission. A top Trump appointee names Will Scharf (sp?) said in September the commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over demolition. […] And the commission is currently closed because of the government shutdown.”

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/22/nx-s1-5581433/parts-of-the-wh...

[norome]

Kind of fitting as the presidency has been radically reshaped in so many other ways.

[zippyman55]

I was upset at the destruction in Gaza and then I realized the pictures were of the East Wing.

[hermannj314]

You're telling me Trump is destroying the foundation of a centuries old institution to satisfy personal ego and fleeting desire? To be fair, that is the platform he ran on.

I am starting to lose trust in the safety of my tap water, but a ballroom would be a fun thing for a few hundred people to enjoy.

[votepaunchy]

The East Wing is less than 100 years old. The White House is a living building in the same way that the Constitution a living document.

[chucksta]

The entire building was gutted in the 50s.

[kjsingh]

Not to be confused with Demolition of Democracy