White House East Wing will be torn down fully to make way for Trump ballroom

The full East Wing of the White House will be torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, an administration official said on Wednesday (October 22, 2025), despite Mr. Trump’s earlier pledge that the project would not interfere with the existing landmark.

Demolition workers began tearing down the section of the White House that holds offices for the first lady and other staff on Monday. Mr. Trump announced that ground had been broken on the project after images of the demolition circulated in news reports, and the full extent of the tear-down only became clear two days later.

“We can confirm that the entire East Wing is going to be modernized and renovated to, I guess, support the ... ballroom project,” the administration official said.