East Wing Demolished for Private $300M Ballroom

Demolition of the White House East Wing has begun to make way for a privately funded 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom, with broadcast images showing critics say irreplaceable historic fabric has been destroyed. The project’s cost is now pegged at about $300 million, and the White House and President Trump say construction is being paid by Trump and outside donors, not taxpayers. Partial donor lists and reported White House events link major tech, defense and finance firms and wealthy individuals to the project, naming companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Coinbase, Comcast and Meta, and donors including the Adelsons and the Winklevosses. The demolition has prompted public outrage and calls for greater transparency and oversight, with historians and commentators drawing parallels to prior high‑profile demolitions of historic architecture.