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Demolition crews have started tearing into the facade of the White House East Wing as construction gets underway for Donald Trump’s a 90,000 square foot ballroom — despite the president previously saying that his new addition wouldn’t “interfere” with the historic White House building.
On Monday, Oct. 20, construction teams were pictured using a backhoe to tear through the East Wing structure, as well as the covered entrance already torn down.
A group of people, including Secret Service members, were seen standing on the steps of the Treasury Department to watch the demolition, one witness who spoke to The Washington Post said.
Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty; PEDRO UGARTE/AFP via Getty
The outlet reported that noise from the construction was also audible on the White House’s campus.
According to The Washington Post, Trump previously said that the new structure will nearly double the footprint of the main building.
“It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it but not touching it — and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of,” Trump said during an executive order signing in July, per The Washington Post. “It’s my favorite. It’s my favorite place. I love it.”
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When asked for more information about whether the entire East Wing would be demolished, the White House directed PEOPLE to a Truth Social post from Trump.
“I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,” he wrote on Monday.
His statement then attempted to distinguish the East Wing — which was attached to the residence in 1942 — from the original White House structure, adding, “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!”
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A source who spoke with the Post said that while the demolition process began on Monday, other parts of the renovation process have been underway for weeks, including the efforts to preserve historically important objects in the wing.
Trump first announced his $200 million addition to the White House East Wing on July 31. The Associated Press reported on Oct. 16 that the updated cost estimate now sits at $250 million.
The president had been outspoken in the past about wanting a room larger than the East Room to host guests.
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty
The White House previously shared details and plans for the new space in a press release. The ballroom is slated to feature gold chandeliers, coffered ceilings and an expansive floor space, flanked by Greek columns and massive arched windows.
The proposed design is remarkably similar to Trump’s eponymous ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
Brooks Kraft/Getty; McCrery Architects/The White House
“The White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House, but at the same time, its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical,” the release stated. “The site of the new ballroom will be where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.”
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On Friday, Sept. 12, the president shared that his planned ballroom is becoming a reality and showed off the construction trucks heading onto the White House grounds.
“Right there, you see all the trucks. They just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they’ve been trying to get for about 150 years,” Trump, 79, said. “And it’s going to be a beauty. It’ll be an absolutely magnificent structure.”
In addition to the ballroom, Trump and first lady Melania Trump have added Mar-a-Lago’s signature yellow and white beach umbrellas to the patio where the Rose Garden lawn used to be, and ushered in the president’s “gold guy” to add heavy metallic accents throughout the White House’s interior.
Though the White House has not announced a planned completion date for the ballroom, the release stated the structure would be open “long before the end of President Trump’s term.”
Shortly after the construction was announced in August, a series of sources told PEOPLE that the Trump family is “bringing Mar-a-Lago to Washington” through the renovations.
