Overview
- New views from the Washington Monument show the East Wing site cleared and heavy equipment preparing the 90,000-square-foot venue.
- ABC News reports the demolition removed six historic trees and the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden to make room for the addition.
- The White House says the project is privately funded, listing donors such as Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google, and it has permitted anonymous contributions.
- Rep. Jamie Raskin proposes a dual-use hall with a "Democracy Matters" exhibit, Rep. Steve Cohen favors tearing it down, Rep. Ro Khanna calls for public input, and candidate Saikat Chakrabarti backs a Smithsonian-run museum on "corruption and autocracy."
- An October ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found 56% oppose replacing the East Wing with a ballroom, as the White House defends it as beautifying the residence at no taxpayer cost.