The East Wing of the White House is demolished, new images appear to show
New images appear to show that the entire East Wing of the White House has been demolished to make way for President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the demolition under questions from reporters at a briefing Thursday.
President Trump initially said in July that the project would not interfere with the existing structure of the White House. Then this week, as crews began razing the east wing, management said the entire wing would need to be “retrofitted” to make way for the massive 90,000-square-foot ballroom.
On Thursday, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC showed the east wing reduced to rubble.
The East Wing of the White House (left) in a satellite photograph captured by Planet Labs PBC on September 26, 2025 along with a photograph captured on October 23, 2025.
Planet PBC Laboratories
Demolition work continues on a portion of the East Wing of the White House on October 23, 2025, in Washington, ahead of the construction of a new ballroom.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
“This is the People’s House. Why not inform the public of that change and when it was decided that the east wing would have to be demolished?” ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce asked Leavitt.
“With any construction project, changes occur. And we’ve informed everyone, we’ve kept them informed about this project. We’ve shown them the renderings,” Leavitt said.
“The plans changed when the president listened to the advice of architects and construction companies who said that in order for this east wing to be modern and beautiful for many, many years, to be a truly strong and stable structure, this phase one that we are in now was necessary,” Leavitt added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
