Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton denounced President Donald Trump’s plan to build a private ballroom at the White House.In a post on X, the Democratic leader said, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”The White House began tearing down part of the East Wing on Monday to make way for the $250 million ballroom. The East Wing is traditionally home to the offices of the first lady. Photos showed construction equipment ripping into the façade, with windows and other building parts scattered on the ground.Trump announced the project on social media while hosting the 2025 college baseball champions from Louisiana State University and LSU-Shreveport. The POTUS said, “We have a lot of construction going on, which you might hear periodically. It just started today.” He described the ballroom as “beautiful, like I have at Mar-a-Lago” and said it would cost nothing to taxpayers, funded privately by donors and companies.Despite the demolition, the White House has not yet received formal approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees construction on federal buildings. The commission’s chairman, Will Scharf, said the agency does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work. The new ballroom is expected to be 90,000 square feet, accommodating up to 999 guests, significantly larger than the East Room, which holds around 200 people. Trump said it would allow the hosting of world leaders without using temporary pavilions on the South Lawn. Some trees have already been cleared as part of site preparation, and construction is scheduled to finish before the end of Trump’s term in January 2029.The White House confirmed that East Wing offices will be temporarily relocated and that the wing will be modernised. Carrier Global Corp. has pledged to donate the air conditioning system for the new ballroom.
