Overview
- Photos and eyewitnesses showed heavy equipment ripping into the East Wing façade on Oct. 20, confirming the start of demolition.
- President Trump said “ground has been broken” and told guests the East Room will open into the new venue through a planned knockout panel.
- The work conflicts with earlier assurances that the project would not touch existing structures, which officials now describe as being modernized.
- The White House says the roughly $200–$250 million cost will be covered by Trump and private donors, with recent funder dinners drawing major tech and defense executives.
- Plans envision a larger hall with bulletproof glass and capacity reported up to 999, East Wing offices have been temporarily relocated, and NCPC review remains unresolved with its chair saying demolition is outside the panel’s remit.