On his way to constructing what he claims will be a new 8, 400-square-foot (90, 000-square-foot) ballroom, President Donald Trump has completely destroyed the East Wing of the White House, shocking historic preservationists and drawing national ire.
Trump’s supporters point to another recent White House renovation, suggesting the current outcry is unjustifiably unfair, despite criticism of this projected $300 million project.
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An October 22 X post that shared a 25-second clip of a , CNN news story read, ” A CNN report from 2010: Renovation of the Obama administration cost $ 376 million.” Where did the Democratic outcry go then?
A CNN report from 2010:
Renovation of the Obama administration cost $ 376 million.
The Democrats’ outraged, where was it then? pic. twitter.com/MvLVDFcTru
Another X post that shared the same video clip reshared it with “BREAKING.” A 2010 CNN clip that shows Obama’s $376 million White House makeover, which taxpayers paid for, is being “explored.” While President Trump is paying for his $250 million ballroom,
A 2010 CNN clip that depicts Obama’s $376 million White House makeover was discovered by the public. While President Trump is paying for his own $ 250 million ballroom, pic. twitter.com/PSS2K8SJRJ
During the White House renovation, Obama served as president. However, there are significant differences between Trump’s and that project.
After a government report released during President George W. Bush’s second term discovered that the building needed upgrades to its electrical and water pipes, Congress approved funding for White House work in 2008, according to a CNN report from 2010 that was released. Since the changes, which hadn’t been updated since 1902 or 1934, improved the heating, cooling, and fire alarm systems.
In 2010, Bob Peck, the then US General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service commissioner, claimed that the White House occasionally experienced power outages and leaky pipes.
The interior of the building was primarily affected by Obama’s underground renovations.
The White House’s interior was updated and redecorated separately in 2009 from the Obamas  without using taxpayer funds. The White House’s new furnishings were largely funded by Obama’s book royalties and donations, according to The New York Times in 2020. The White House tennis court was also modified by Obama to make it more suitable for basketball use.
The federal agency that oversees federal building construction and renovations has not approved Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and addition of a ballroom. The project’s goal is to increase the East Wing’s seating capacity from 200 to 999, according to Trump.
Trump has since stated that the project will be $300 million, which was originally estimated at $200 million, but has since stated that it will be funded by donations. According to The Washington Post , donors include businesses like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
The American public has been completely in the dark about the President’s plans, according to Sara Bronin, a professor of law at George Washington University, is “unprecedented in all the wrong ways.”
The Society of Architectural Historians’ Heritage Conservation Committee chair, Priya Jain, objected to calling Trump’s project a renovation. She said, “This project involves the total destruction of a significant portion of the building.”
Trump’s renovations were covered by Obama’s era project, which destroyed a whole wing.
According to CNN, the Obama-era renovation began in 2010 with an estimated $ 376 million in renovation costs for the East and West Wings, according to a report from 2010.
Peck described the project as largely subterranean utility work. When questioned about the cost, Peck told CNN: “It doesn’t do a lot of good to have a building that’s the kind of the image of the free world standing up there and functioning poorly.”
The Obama renovation was the largest White House upgrade since Harry Truman took office, according to Bloomberg News  in 2010. In response to significant structural and historical problems that at one point led to the leg of his daughter’s piano breaking through the floor, Truman oversaw the White House’s historic gutting, , renovation and expansion from 1948 to 1952.
According to historians who study historic preservation, Trump’s project will be the White House’s first significant exterior change in 83 years.
In a statement released on October 16, the Society of Architectural Historians stated that “a significant change to a historic building of this import should follow a rigorous and deliberate design and review process.”
Trump has also added gold highlights to the Oval Office and paved over the Rose Garden lawn since taking office a second time. The Rose Garden project, overseen by the National Park Service, and the National Park Service.
Federal agency approval for presidents’ projects is different.
The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal body that regulates the construction and renovation of federal buildings, convened a meeting in September to discuss the commission’s jurisdiction over “construction and vertical build” only. If the federal government shutdown continues, the commission was scheduled to meet on November 6. However, it’s not certain whether that will occur.
The National Planning Commission Project Search had no access to the database’s records before January 2012, but PolitiFact found them after checking the database for approval records for the Obama renovations. We contacted the commission to ask if they would approve the renovations for 2010 but were unsuccessful because of their closure.
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires each federal agency to take into account public perceptions and concerns when making final project decisions, exempts The White House from its provisions in Section 106. Presidents have typically undertaken White House projects in the spirit of public transparency, according to Michael Spencer, an associate professor in the University of Mary Washington’s historic preservation department. For instance, the National Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, both, the commissions, approved Trump’s first-term term-long tennis facility modifications.
Most important of all of these projects involved the demolition of well-known historic structures, according to Jain.
According to National Park Service guidelines, the East Colonnade and East Wing were constructed in 1902 and 1942, respectively, and should have been evaluated for historical significance before being destroyed, she said.
Source: Aljazeera
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