The White House has moved ahead with the massive construction project 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.

Construction workers demolished the facade of the East Wing of the White House on Monday, Oct. 20. Photos captured the historic scene.

Demolition for Trump’s long-sought $250 million ballroom began Monday, The Washington Post first reported. Trump hinted at the construction of the 90,000-square-foot project during an event at the White House in the afternoon, saying “We’re building right behind us. We’re building a ballroom.”

"Shame on you," read one of dozens of reviews for the company demolishing the East Wing facade to build Trump's new ballroom.

Donald Trump is building a new ballroom at the White House. The demolition started Oct. 20, 2025. Is he paying for it? Will it look like Mar-a-Lago?

The White House East Wing is undergoing significant alterations as part of a $250 million project to construct a new ballroom.

The Trump administration has ordered federal employees not to share photos of the East Wing of the White House being demolished to make way for the president’s $250 million vanity project.

It comes amid Trump’s ongoing renovation plans at the White House, which include a 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom.

The raid was executed in the heart of South Shore, an overwhelmingly Black neighborhood on Lake Michigan that has long been a tangle of middle-class dreams, urban decay and gentrification.