WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s demolition of the entire East Wing of the White House to build a massive, $300 million ballroom paid for by billionaires and top businesses is drawing plenty of criticism from Democrats on Capitol Hill, but Republicans are largely sticking by him.
“I didn’t hear a whole lot of concern about our history when my colleagues were applauding all of those rioters tearing down statues and rewriting our history books,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told HuffPost, referring to Democrats’ push to remove Confederate statues and images across the country. “So I think the concern about the facade of the East Wing is maybe a little rich.”
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Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) blamed Democrats for blocking government funding while complaining about “improving” the White House.
“They don’t even like the White House,” Barrasso said in a speech Thursday. “They don’t like that [Trump’s] in the White House. They don’t like the fact that he’s improving the White House. They don’t like the fact that he’s going to continue being in the White House.”
Demolition of the East Wing was completed Thursday after just four days of work. Unlike past renovations, the public was not invited to comment on the major changes to the People’s House. The White House also didn’t submit plans to the federal agency that oversees the construction of federal buildings.
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Trump originally said he wouldn’t touch the East Wing when he announced his renovation plans in July. On Wednesday, he announced he had changed his mind ― after most of the historic building that long housed the first lady’s office and staff had been knocked down.
“We determined that, after really a tremendous amount of study with some of the best architects in the world, we determined that really knocking it down, trying to use a little section — you know, the East Wing, was not much,” he said in remarks in the Oval Office.
Most Republicans shrugged at the demolition, saying Trump had the authority
“I suspect any modification of the White House throughout history has been received this exact same way, and history will judge this differently than we do in today’s eyes,” Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) told HuffPost. “To Jacqueline Kennedy’s remodeling, I suspect you could have the same [reaction]. He is the occupant of the White House and gets some discretion about what he does there.”
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“I think they can operate pretty independently at the current residence,” added Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).
A few Republicans have spoken out about the project. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested it was bad timing to carry on building a grand ballroom at the White House in the midst of a government shutdown. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) agreed.
“It’s kind of shocking to so many that are looking at it happen,” Murkowski told HuffPost. “What I’ve been reminding people is that taxpayer dollars are not going towards it, but I think people feel very possessive about it ― it’s the People’s House. And I think there was hope that there was more input.”
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“The role that we have is very, very limited if you don’t have appropriations involved,” she added of Congress.
The White House has said that Trump has no plans for additional changes to the complex.
“At this moment in time, the ballroom is really the president’s main priority,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference Thursday.
