Trump Demolishes White House East Wing for New $300 Million Ballroom

Lots happening on this Wednesday, so let's dive right in.

Trump Demolishes White House East Wing for New $300 Million Ballroom

The entire East Wing of the White House is being demolished as part of President Trump's plan to add a massive ballroom to the White House.

The teardown is reportedly expected to be completed by the weekend, but the stunning sight of bulldozers ripping apart the White House's East Wing, combined with the extent and speed of the demolition, has sparked a furious backlash, especially since Trump had said that the ballroom construction project wouldn't interfere with the existing building.

"It'll be near it but not touching it," the president originally said. "And pays total respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of."

Trump was asked about the discrepancy Wednesday. "In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure," he said.

Critics see a perfect metaphor for what Trump is doing to American democracy - and a "let them eat cake" moment from a president seemingly more concerned with the construction of a glitzy ballroom than with a government shutdown hurting federal workers and ordinary Americans.

"Oh you're trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can't hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom," Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a post on X this week.

Preservationists, meanwhile, have raised concerns about the demolition and potential loss of historically significant Americana, calling for a pause in the project. They've also expressed fear that the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom will overwhelm the rest of the White House.

"We acknowledge the utility of a larger meeting space at the White House, but we are deeply concerned that the massing and height of the proposed new construction will overwhelm the White House itself-it is 55,000 square feet-and may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings," Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said in a statement Monday.

The White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit organization, reportedly said that a historic record of the East Wing was created "through a comprehensive digital scanning project and photography" and that artifacts from the East Wing were preserved.

Adding to critics' concerns, it's not entirely clear where all the money for the demolition and construction is coming from, though Trump has said that taxpayer money isn't involved as he and other private donors will cover the costs. "The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly," Trump wrote in a social media post.

Trump today said that the ballroom project would cost $300 million, which is $100 million more than the cost estimate the White House initially provided at the end of July. The White House has not yet released a comprehensive list of funders, but Trump has touted donations as large as $25 million from companies including Apple, Amazon, Coinbase and Lockheed Martin. Some $22 million for the project comes from YouTube, which is owned by Google, as part of a $24.5 million settlement for a Trump lawsuit against the company.

Ethics experts have warned about conflicts of interest in that funding. Another ethical landmine: Trump is reportedly seeking some $230 million from the Justice Department to settle federal damage claims related to past investigations into him, and he suggested Tuesday that whatever settlement money he may get could go to charity or the ballroom project.

As shockwaves about the East Wing demolition reverberate, the White House has brushed aside what it calls "manufactured outrage" over the demolition. It released a list of presidential renovations to the White House dating back to 1902 and said that Trump's ballroom is "a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence."

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung lashed out at those raising the alarm about the demolition. "Losers who are quick to criticize need to stop their pearl clutching and understand the building needs to be modernized," he posted on X.

Democratic Senator Rails Against Trump's 'Tyranny' as Funding Vote Fails Again

The Senate on Wednesday held its 12th vote on a Republican bill that would end the shutdown by providing short-term funding for the federal government, but first it had to wait for Sen. Jeff Merkley to finish his nearly day-long speech protesting President Trump's policies. The Oregon Democrat began speaking at about 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and held the floor until around 5 p.m. Wednesday - more than 22 hours.

"President Trump is shredding our Constitution," Merkley said as he kicked off his speech, while later warning that "tyranny has already arrived" in the U.S. "Suddenly, you have the three elements that create tyranny in place of freedom, or authoritarianism in place of a republic," he said. "And those are a rubber-stamp Congress, a deferential court, and an aggressive authoritarian personality with a good plan."

Many of his Democratic colleagues applauded the effort, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who said lawmakers must avoid "business as usual" as the nation deals with "Trump's lawless regime."

Republicans panned Merkley's speech as a stunt that forced congressional staff to work overnight. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told NBC News that the speech was "useless" and did nothing to help Americans who are being harmed by the shutdown. "Democrats will do anything except vote to open the government," she said.

After Merkley finished his speech, the Senate voted and, as expected, the bill failed once again by a margin of 53 to 47.

Gangs not getting it done: In previous shutdowns, bipartisan "gangs" of lawmakers have sometimes played a role in finding a way to end the crisis, but as Politico's Jordain Carney reports, that's not happening this time around.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink," said Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, who was involved in bipartisan talks a few weeks ago that have petered out. "I don't see that there's a path forward at this point."

The retirement of key dealmakers like Joe Manchin and Rob Portman has made it harder to hold talks and make deals, as has the hardening of ideological lines among lawmakers and the unusual political style of the current president.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican who has been involved in bipartisan talks in the past, said most lawmakers see nothing to gain in reaching across the aisle right now. "Both sides think there is political advantage in sticking with the positions that they have," she said.

Eyeing the filibuster: As the shutdown drags on with no end in sight, Senate Republicans are reportedly discussing changing the rules to push through a funding bill with just 50 votes, rather than the 60 required to end a filibuster.

"Nobody talked about filibuster two weeks ago," Sen. Tommy Tuberville said, per The Hill. "Now that we see that the Democrats are just not going to agree to anything, then that's probably a viable option."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he opposes altering the rules, and the issue reportedly did not come up when GOP senators met with Trump this week, but that could change if the shutdown reaches into November. "I think the pressure from the White House will become pretty enormous," an unnamed Republican senator told The Hill. "We're reaching a point here where the SNAP benefits start going down, the military - pretty soon [the president] isn't going to have enough money to pay them."

A longer funding punt: The funding bill passed by Republicans in the House and repeatedly rejected by Democrats in the Senate would fund the government until November 21, but as that date draws closer, GOP leaders are considering a new bill that would extend the duration. Republicans say they want to avoid a funding crunch ahead of the holidays, which usually increases pressure to pass a massive omnibus bill, so the most likely end date is mid-January. Some hardliners have said they want more time, with a bill running into April.

Another possibility is a full-year continuing resolution, or CR, that would maintain funding at 2025 levels for the rest of the 2026 fiscal year. That could be a hard sell for many Republicans, though, including Speaker Mike Johnson, since it would again lock in spending levels signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

Still, the need to find a funding plan that lawmakers can agree on, however reluctantly, may mean another continuing resolution could be in the cards. "If the Democrats keep this up, they will make it not only a possibility, they will make it an inevitability," said Republican Sen. John Hoeven. "We'll have no choice but to end up with a CR."

National Debt Tops $38 Trillion

The national debt surpassed $38 trillion on Tuesday, according to the Treasury Department, reaching a new milestone just over two months after it hit the $37 trillion mark. That's the fastest the gross national debt has increased by $1 trillion aside from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rapid rise is largely the result of delayed borrowing while the Treasury was employing extraordinary measures to prevent a breach of the debt limit earlier this year, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonprofit that advocates for deficit reduction.

"It's tough to decide what the most appalling part is of today's announcement from the Treasury: that we surpassed an unprecedented $38 trillion in gross national debt; that we'll likely hit the next milestone in just a matter of months; or that we are getting this news amid a government shutdown with seemingly no end in sight," CRFB President Maya MacGuineas said in a statement.

The Trump administration says it is tackling the annual budget deficit. A new analysis by the Treasury Department says that the deficit from April to September totaled $468 billion. "This is the lowest reading since 2019 and is down nearly 40% from the comparable period last year when [President Joe] Biden was spending recklessly," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a post on X.

The administration says revenues are rising and spending has been curbed. "During his first eight months in office, President Trump has reduced the deficit by $350 billion compared to the same period in 2024 by cutting spending and boosting revenue," White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to the Associated Press.

Shutdown News

• Democrats Block Government Funding Bill for 12th Time After Marathon Floor Protest – The Hill
• GOP Leaders Eye a Spending Punt Into 2026 – Politico
• Thune Meets With GOP Senators on Post-Shutdown Path – Politico
• US Government Shutdown Is Now Second Longest in History – Bloomberg
• Senate GOP Chatter Rises on Filibuster Reform to End Shutdown – The Hill
• USDA Is Reopening Some 2,100 Offices to Help Farmers Access $3B in Aid Despite the Ongoing Shutdown – Associated Press
• Trump Pollster: Obamacare Subsidy Extension Key for GOP Ahead of Midterms – The Hill
• Head Start Programs Flash Red Lights Ahead of November Funding Cliff – NBC News
• Government Shutdown Signals Weakness to Foes, Ex-Defense Secretary Says – Axios
• Here's Who Gets Paid - and Who Doesn't - During a Federal Government Shutdown – CNN

Other News

• ICE Windfall From Trump Megabill Fuels Surveillance Juggernaut – Axios
• Bessent Inks ‘Economic Stabilization’ Deal With Argentina – Politico
• American Farmers Slam Trump’s “Betrayal” With Argentina Beef Deal – New Republic
• U.S. Narrows Who Pays $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee – Wall Street Journal
• All but 2 Universities Decline a Trump Offer of Preferential Funding – New York Times
• Trump Put a New Fee on Asylum Seekers. Many Say They Don’t Know How to Pay – Politico
• US Army Taps Private Equity Groups to Help Fund $150 Billion Revamp – Financial Times
• A Look at the US Military’s Unusually Large Force in the Caribbean Sea – Associated Press
• Tariffs Are Starting to Bite Consumers and Businesses, Economists Say – CBS News
• Trump’s White House Ballroom: Plans, Cost, and Who’s Really Paying – New York
• Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases – New York Times

Views and Analysis

• The Longer the Shutdown Lasts, the Harder It Is to Mask – Irie Sentner, Politico
• Blue States Give Trump a Taste of His Own Shutdown Medicine – Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, New Republic
• The Shutdown Is Complicating the Fed's Ability to Help the Economy – Bryan Mena, CNN
• Why Trump's Sudden East Wing Demolition Is Extraordinary - and Dicey – Aaron Blake, CNN
• Trump's Vile New $230 Million Shakedown of DOJ Just Got Even Worse – Greg Sargent, New Republic
• Trump's Multi-Million Request Puts DOJ Integrity to the Test, Legal Scholars Say – Avery Lotz, Axios
• The Economics of Trade and Trump's Little Water Pistol – Dean Baker, Substack
• The Costly Flaws in America's High-Skilled Immigration Policy – Neil Irwin, Axios
• The Swamp Gets Rich Off of Trump Upheaval – Caitlin Oprysko, Politico