The Trump administration has reportedly ordered federal employees not to share photos of the East Wing demolition—a directive that’s drawing as much scrutiny as the $250 million project itself.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Treasury Department staff—whose offices overlook the construction site next door—received an email Monday evening warning them to keep quiet.
“As construction proceeds on the White House grounds, employees should refrain from taking and sharing photographs of the grounds, to include the East Wing, without prior approval from the Office of Public Affairs,” the email read.
Demolition of the East Wing begins on Oct. 20.
A Treasury spokesperson later explained to the Journal that the order was intended to prevent leaks of “sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details.”
But the timing of the gag order is hard to ignore. Just hours earlier, images of cranes and backhoes smashing the East Wing façade had gone viral—showing the White House literally being torn apart to make way for President Donald Trump’s latest vanity project: a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that’s reportedly financed by Trump and private donors.
“For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday.
The East Wing, which has existed in its current form since 1942, has long housed the office of the first lady and her staff. It connects to the Executive Residence through the east colonnade, serving as one of the most historic parts of the White House complex.
Trump’s new ballroom—initially billed at $200 million but now topping $250 million—will dwarf the original 12,000-square-foot building.
The president once insisted that his plans wouldn’t “interfere with the current building.”
“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 in July.
But even then, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that “the necessary construction will take place” to “modernize” the East Wing.
President Donald Trump hosts a dinner party on the paved-over Rose Garden in September.
Crews have already relocated historic trees and removed artifacts in preparation. State dinners—often staged in temporary tents on the South Lawn—will eventually move to the new ballroom, which Trump reportedly views as a cornerstone of his legacy.
Since taking office, he’s personally overseen the tacky redecoration of the Rose Garden, Oval Office, Palm Room, and Colonnade, and he added massive flagpoles at both White House entrances.
But there’s another problem: It’s unclear whether the project even has proper approval.
The Associated Press reported that, as of September, the White House had yet to submit formal plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which is required to sign off on most federal construction. But Trump’s allies insist that he doesn’t need approval for demolition or site prep work.
NCPC Chair Will Scharf has claimed that the commission only reviews “vertical build,” but federal law says that the NCPC was created to “preserve the important historical and natural features of the National Capital” and serves as the government’s “central planning agency.”
At a recent donor dinner—attended by tech moguls, defense contractors, and crypto investors seeking policy favors—Trump bragged that the project faced “zero zoning conditions.”
“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’” he said. “‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals.’ I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”
Hand-cut paper snowflakes hang from the ceiling of the East Colonnade as part of first lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative in 2015.
By Monday, as footage of the “People’s House” being demolished spread online, critics erupted.
“Seeing the White House torn apart is really emblematic of the times we’re in,” Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota wrote on X.
And California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote, “Ripping apart the White House just like he’s ripping apart the Constitution.”
But, of course, the Trump team brushed off the outrage.
“Construction has always been a part of the evolution of the White House,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote on X. “Losers who are quick to criticize need to stop their pearl clutching and understand the building needs to be modernized.”
The official Rapid Response 47 X account also chimed in, labeling the backlash “FAKE OUTRAGE” and reminding followers that President Barack Obama once turned the White House tennis court into a basketball court.
Still, the symbolism is hard to miss.
The East Wing—long associated with tradition, family, and history—is being demolished to make room for a gilded ballroom, and federal employees watching it happen have been ordered to shut up about it.
