The first lawsuit has been filed, by a Virginia couple, over President Donald Trump’s plan to gift the American people a badly needed $300 million ballroom, to be used for state dinners and the like, at the White House complex by replacing the East Wing.
And it’s being done essentially without breaking laws because the White House, and the Supreme Court building and Capitol building are exempt from many standard procedures.
According to published reports, “The Trump administration’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House without consulting preservation agencies and organizations is a reflection in part of the unusual position the building has in historical preservation law.”
It explained that Trump’s work with a local planning commissioner means that approval is a foregone conclusion.
Sara Bronin headed the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation for Joe Biden, and found, “There’s a sense that protections on one of the country’s most important buildings should have been a lot stronger from the start. And as we look to what is going to happen next, including plans for construction, I do think we need to get a better understanding about every step that the White House didn’t take this time and must take next time.”
Democrats have erupted in rage, again, this time over the construction of the ballroom, which is being paid for with private dollars, and the plan is that it won’t cost taxpayers anything.
The East Wing’s demolition was begun this week, and leftists in the party erupted with all sorts of snark, but most entirely ignored the previous destruction and construction that other presidents, like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, did to the actual White House, not just a wing.
The White House has released a list of donors who contributed to President Trump’s new ballroom, amid a backlash over the demolition of the decades-old East Wing to make way for the project. https://t.co/QNd7IEEtcy pic.twitter.com/ohT1Tqn354
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 24, 2025
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Teddy Roosevelt built the West Wing.
Taft made the Executive Office oval.
FDR added the entire East Wing and included an indoor pool for himself.
Truman gutted the entire White House.
Nixon added a bowling alley.
Obama added a basketball court.
Trump is building a ballroom. pic.twitter.com/OoQQjZVwQ1
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) October 20, 2025
The White House was built from 1792 to 1800, is owned by American people and overseen by the National Park Service.
The East Wing, which held offices, dates to about the 1940s.
Priya Jain of the Society of Architectural Historians said past White House changes have gone through public review procedures, but a provision in the rules allowed Trump’s plan to be on the fast track.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has explained the administration wasn’t required to submit plans for demolition, but that a construction plan would be provided.
A 1952 law requires approval from a local planning board, the National Capital Planning Commission, which now is being run by a White House staff secretary, Will Scharf.
Donors have been revealed to include Google LLC, Blackstone Inc., OpenAI, Coinbase Global Inc., Palantir Technologies Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp., among others, with donations being handled through the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., has tried to interfere, demanding, “This project represents one of the most substantial alterations to the White House in modern history. The decisions were made in complete secrecy and undertaken without public disclosure or proper consultation.”
Democrats are questioning the demolition, the construction plans, the donors and much more.
A lawsuit filed by Charles and Judith Voorhees, in federal court in Washington, submits claims that the administration did not secure “legally required approvals or reviews” for the work.
Hillary Clinton has joined that agenda, claiming, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
Apoplectic anti-Trumpers schooled about renovations of White House, new ballroom
‘It’s not his house’: Watch leftists lose their minds over Trump’s ballroom project