The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sent a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Park Service, and the Commission of Fine Arts seeking a pause in White House demolition for the Trump regime’s massive ballroom project, which would “overwhelm the White House itself,” until legal requirements are met.
On October 20, 2025 heavy machinery began tearing down the East Wing of the White House as construction began on Donald Trump‘s planned $250 million (now apparently $300 million $350 million) grand ballroom. Trump held a fancy dinner October 15th to thank billionaires and companies for donating to the new building, which will be attached to the existing White House.
The guests included representatives from tech firms like Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Google (whose CEO thanked Trump for “resolution” of an antitrust case); Blackstone (who stands to profit from Trump’s proposed regulatory rollbacks for private equity firms); Palantir (which has lucrative contracts with ICE); and defense giant Lockheed Martin, according to US media citing a White House guest list.
The massive construction project is moving forward despite not yet having sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area.
“Its chairman, Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary and one of Trump’s top aides, said at the commission’s September meeting that agency does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property,” according to news reports.
Built in 1902, the East Wing houses several offices, including those of the first lady. It has been renovated over the years, with a second story added in 1942. The proposed ballroom will be the first major change to its exterior appearance in the last 83 years.
Trump has told reporters that the massive 90,000-square-foot, glass-walled addition will replace the the East Room, the White House’s largest space, because that room could only hold 200 people. The new space would hold 650.
The ballroom is the biggest structural change to the Executive Mansion since the Truman Balcony was added in 1948 and will dwarf the 55,000 square feet White House.
Carrier Global is donating the ballroom’s air conditioning system. Willis Carrier, a mechanical engineer working for Buffalo Forge, is credited with inventing modern air conditioning in 1902. In 1908, the Carrier Air Conditioner Company of America was created as a subsidiary of the Buffalo Forge Company.
Trump, a former New York real estate magnate, has already made several changes to the Oval Office, Rose Garden and other parts of the executive mansion complex since January. A tennis pavilion on White House grounds that was completed during Trump’s first term went through the official review processes of the NCPC and the Commission of Fine Arts.
Opposition from Historic Preservationists
When the ballroom was first announced this summer, Trump said the project “won’t interfere with the current building.” During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt went even further, saying “nothing will be torn down.” Those statements turned out to be false.
In a statement Carol Quillen, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, urged a pause in demolition “until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, both of which have authority to review new construction at the White House, and to invite comments from the American people.”
“These processes provide an essential opportunity for transparency and public engagement — values that have guided preservation of the White House under every administration going back to the public competition in 1792 that produced the building’s original design,” she said.
The Society of Architectural Historians expressed “great concern” over the project, stating that a major change to such a historic building should be subject to a thorough review process.
“The White House is one of the most important historic buildings in the United States, ” a Society statement says. “As stated in the ‘Design Guidelines for the White House and President’s Park’ (1997), issued by the National Park Service: ‘The White House and President’s Park are first and foremost a public trust, an important part of our national heritage’.”
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has expressed concern and offered recommendations in five areas: establishing a qualifications-based architect selection process, enacting a rigorous historic preservation review, prioritizing transparency and public accountability, considering “proportionality” and “design harmony,” and leveraging collaboration and expertise across the architecture profession.
The White House is part of President’s Park and a National Historic Landmark owned by the American people and stewarded by the National Park Service. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of America’s Favorite Architecture.
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Illustrations, from above: Demolition of the East Wing of the White House underway; a Washington Post illustration showing the ballroom building replacement of the East Wing from renderings and models released by the White House; the East Wing of the White House from above in 1992; and the now demolished entrance to the East Wing of the White House ca. 1992.
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