The White House has admitted that the East Wing will be totally demolished to make way for Donald Trump’s new ballroom.
Trump had originally claimed that the 83-year-old building wouldn’t be touched in the construction of the $230 million privately-funded ballroom.
But when a backhoe was pictured on Monday smashing through the walls of the historic building it set off alarm bells.
Now the White House is confirming that it will be cheaper and structurally sounder to demolish the entire wing, rather than build an extension, an official told The New York Times.
The White House was initially cagey about what the plans for the East Wing were, with suggestions that part of the structure would remain intact.
Trump, announcing the ballroom earlier this year, claimed: ‘It won’t interfere with the current building. It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.’
Donald Trump lights a diya candle during a Diwali celebration in the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday
Heavy machinery tears down a section of the East Wing of the White House as construction begins on President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, in Washington, DC, on Wednesday
The facade of the East Wing of the White House is demolished by work crews on Wednesday
