Historic Trust Demands Pause on White House Ballroom Demo

The president and CEO of an organization created by Congress to oversee the preservation of America's historic buildings has asked that demolition of the White House's East Wing be paused "until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes."

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Carol Quillen wrote to officials at the National Park Service and other oversight agencies to raise serious concerns about the scope, scale, and transparency of the proposed addition to the White House.

"We are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself ... and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings," Quillen wrote in her letter.

Quillen noted that NTHP's 1949 congressional charter obligates it to "facilitate public participation in the preservation of sites, buildings, and objects of national significance or interest."

"Owned by the American people, the White House was designed by Irish architect James Hoban ... it is a National Historic Landmark, a National Park, and a globally recognized symbol of our nation's ideals," the letter said.

"We respectfully urge the Administration and the National Park Service to pause demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, and to invite comment from the public."

The demolition underway in the East Wing marks the first major structural change at the White House in decades.

According to CBS News, the portion of the East Wing being demolished includes the first lady's office and dozens of other workspaces.

The demolition is affecting the White House visitors' entrance, offices for legislative affairs, the White House Military Office, and the calligrapher's suite.

Work crews have clawed into the building, and images of the site have surprised many who believed the East Wing modernization would remain entirely separate from the historic residence.

Meanwhile, according to Axios, the demolition began even though the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has not yet approved the vertical construction plans for the ballroom.

There is uncertainty about whether demolition falls under the NCPC's jurisdiction; the White House says it will submit plans "soon."

Critics have reacted strongly, noting that the proposal was initially described as modest and noninvasive, while the current plan calls for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom — nearly double the size of the existing 55,000-square-foot main building — that will seat up to 999 guests.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sharply criticized Trump on Tuesday after the demolition began.

"It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it," Clinton declared in a post on social media.

Eric Trump responded to Clinton on X by saying, "The ballroom will be spectacular ... unlike your work in Haiti."

Other Trump foes also have criticized the project.

"There’s a lot of history that has taken place in the East Wing, and it was just destroyed without any conversation in the American public, without any consent of Congress. It was absolutely illegal," Democrat Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said on MSNBC.

"Ripping apart the White House just like he's ripping apart the Constitution," Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X.

"Oh you're trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can't hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., posted on X.

This is not the first time the NTHP has opposed a Trump initiative.

In 2020, the NTHP joined other preservation and architectural groups in opposing his proposed executive order that would mandate classical architectural styles for all federal buildings.

The NTHP warned that such a mandate would "censor and stifle the full record of American architecture" by restricting design expression.

The NTHP also raised alarms earlier in 2025 when Trump signed a series of executive orders affecting historic preservation and infrastructure review, noting that they could jeopardize public input and protections for culturally significant sites.