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When President Trump first announced his plans for a ballroom at the White House, he promised a light touch on the structure. Now the East Wing is slated to be completely torn down.
During an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, Mr. Trump showed off a model of the White House with the new ballroom, along with recent drawings of the ballroom itself. On the other end of the White House grounds, demolition of the East Wing continued.
Mr. Trump said that to build the ballroom properly, the existing structure had to come down, despite his previous statements. The East Wing housed the White House visitors office and offices for the first lady and her staff.
Much is still unknown about the renovation process and what the final ballroom will look like, and the project has not gone through the review process that White House renovations typically do. The process of tearing down the East Wing was expected to be completed as soon as this weekend, according to administration officials.
