The White House is under fire, literally and figuratively. According to a new report from the New York Times, the demolition of the East Wing should be complete by the end of the weekend. Here is a look at this controversial renovation and why it is causing a stir across the country.

Demolition of East Wing Moving Forward

President Donald Trump is getting his wish for a new ballroom on the White House grounds. Demolition is now underway for the planned $200 million ballroom. The 90,000-square-foot room will sit where the East Wing offices have been for years. This part of the White House has historically been the home to the first lady's offices, as well as the entrance point for visitors' tours.

The extensive demolition continued on Wednesday, raising a ruckus across Washington, D.C., as shocking images of the destruction of the historic East Wing began to circulate on social media. The images are in contrast to previous messages from the Trump administration about the ballroom. When the project was announced earlier in the summer, Trump said that the ballroom would not "interfere" with any of the existing parts of the White House, going on to say that it would be "near it but not touching it."

A seven-foot fence was put up this week around the site of the East Wing in an attempt to block the demolition from onlookers. However, employees at the nearby Treasury Department were able to capture images of the demolition in real time. A story from the Wall Street Journal earlier in the week reported that department employees were told to stop sharing the images.

Despite the renovation already underway, the National Capital Planning Commission has not yet received the official plans for the ballroom. The White House Historical Association noted that it was in support of the preservation of the history of the East Wing, detailing that a digital scanning project has created a historic record of this part of the building and its gardens.

A White House official confirmed that all of the historical artifacts in this part of the building had been preserved and stored. Officials also said that the Office of the First Lady and the other important functions of the East Wing have been relocated to separate areas within the White House and the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

The president has not made his desire to build a ballroom at the White House a secret. He unveiled the mock-ups for the facility this past summer, detailing that the ballroom will be funded by himself and other donors. Critics of the president have raised concerns about the secrecy of who is funding the project.

Trump revealed more details earlier this week, saying that visitors would be able to walk directly from the East Wing into the ballroom once the construction is finished. This conflicts with previous information that the ballroom would not actually touch the facade of the White House.

Opposition to the Construction

While the GOP is largely cheering the construction of the new ballroom, Democrats are becoming increasingly vocal about their displeasure with the project. For example, former first lady Hillary Clinton posted on X on Tuesday that the president was "destroying" the People's House.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation requested a pause in the demolition through a letter that the non-profit organization sent to White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf. The trust's president, Dr. Carol Quillen, said that their group is concerned about the height of the new construction, noting that it may overwhelm the actual White House. She also expressed concern that the ballroom will disrupt the balanced design of the smaller East and West Wings that flank each side of the main building.

Quillen asked the administration to pause the demolition until the plans go through the proper legal channels. This includes a formal review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The formal process also typically gives the public the chance to comment.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on Fox News on Tuesday, saying that the criticism is simply "fake outrage." Leavit reiterated that prior presidents have also directed renovations of the White House.

Trump also continues to defend the demolition. When hosting a lunch for Senate Republicans on Tuesday, the president celebrated the construction happening nearby. Trump made note of the sound of construction in the background, saying that it was music to his ears.

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