Beyond the Dome: the East Wing

By Katie Dusza, Asst. News Editor

President Donald Trump is replacing the historic East Wing of the White House with a $200 million ballroom. The ballroom is expected to be completed before the end of Trump’s term in 2029 and will be the first structural change to the White House since the addition of the Truman balcony in 1948. 

This change is due to Trump’s perception that the White House doesn’t have a big enough space for large events. According to him, the standard system of hosting heads of state and other guests in tents on the White House lawn no longer suffices. 

Currently the largest room in the White House, the East Room can only hold about 200 people. The new ballroom will be 90,000 square feet with a capacity of about 1,000 people. Currently, the East Wing holds several offices, including the First Lady’s office which will be temporarily relocated during construction. According to the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the White House is committed to working with organizations to preserve the mansion’s “special history.” 

According to Trump’s social media, the ballroom is going to be privately funded by “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly,”  and thus should not cost taxpayers a dime. The White House promised to release the information on the individuals and corporations involved in the funding last week; however, they have not released a comprehensive list or breakdown of funds yet. 

Historically, the National Capital Planning Commission has had jurisdiction over construction and major renovations to government buildings in Washington D.C. However, Trump is moving ahead with construction despite their approval. In a public meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, the Trump-appointed White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf made a distinction between demolition work and rebuilding. Sharf argued that the commission only had to approve of the latter saying, “Demolition and site preparation work can certainly occur, but if you’re talking about actually building anything, then, yeah, it should go through our approval process.”

L. Preston Bryant Jr. was the chairman of the NCPC in 2009 under the Obama administration. Bryant’s response to Trump’s recent project was as follows: “The White House and its design team would be very, very wise to involve NCPC and its staff very much on the front end of the project – in the early design stages – as it’ll make for a better project and help ensure it meets all regulatory and legal compliances,” and, “I cannot stress enough the value to be had at the conceptual and early consultation stages.”

The demolition of the East Wing has brought questions about what this means for the role of the first lady. The East Wing traditionally was assigned to the first lady and her staff. Critics of the demolition note how this project aligns with the historical undermining of the role of the first lady. Critics also note First Lady Melania Trump’s silence regarding the matter. 

The East Wing was first constructed in 1902 under President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration as an entryway for the White House. It was expanded in 1942 partially to cover up a bunker underneath the White House. During Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt used the East Wing as a base of operations for her activism, official functions and as a space for interacting with groups representing the American people. Rosalynn Carter set up the first official Office of the First Lady in the East Wing to be a hub for the influence and political power that first ladies have. The East Wing has been a symbol of first ladies uplifting women for decades. The demolition of the East Wing has been seen by critics as a symbolic reflection of deep-rooted and recently prominent anti-women rhetoric in America.