Overview
- Crews finished demolishing the East Wing to clear space for a large new ballroom at the presidential residence.
- Estimated costs have risen by roughly $100 million from earlier figures to about $300 to $350 million, according to recent reports.
- The White House says the project will be financed entirely by the president and other private donors.
- Press accounts name Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI and Meta among contributors, with about $22 million reportedly tied to a YouTube settlement.
- Preservation and transparency concerns continue, including a reported instruction to Treasury staff not to share demolition photos and a poll finding 53% opposed to tearing down part of the East Wing.