President Trump said that keeping the East Wing would have “hurt a very, very expensive, beautiful building” that he said presidents have wanted for years.

Critics of White House renovations also hated Jefferson’s colonnades and Truman’s balcony.

Trump has began demolishing the White House's East Wing, as he prepares for his latest change— a ball room paid by billionaires and top businesses.

Associated Press photos show the entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves ahead with building a ballroom

Trump's claims the ballroom renovations will be paid for through private donations and his own money. Democrats Launch Investigation Into Trump’s ‘Theft’ Of $230 Million In Taxpayer Money More than 200 shots fired in deadly Kansas City,

The entire White House East Wing has now largely been demolished, satellite imagery shows, after the White House said President Trump doesn't need to seek approval to tear it down. A new satellite image below from Planet Labs PBC shows some rubble where the East Wing used to stand,

The president also said the cost of the ballroom would be $300 million, an increase from the White House’s previous estimate of $250 million. A White House official said the sco