AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
A group of sixty House Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday — addressed to “What Remains of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave” — demanding that his “reckless vanity project” halt “until the president can demonstrate how his demolition of the East Wing complies with federal law.”
The ballroom has been a pet project for the president, who boasted last month that it would be “absolutely magnificent construction” and “one of the best anywhere in the world,” but it has sparked significant controversy.
Trump has said the ballroom will be funded by private donors, but the specifics remain murky and the endeavor has raised ethical questions about conflicts of interest. The skyrocketing cost is also raising eyebrows; over the past few months the estimated figure has leapt from $200 million to $300 million.
Opponents of the project object to the lack of review and question why the plans were not submitted before work began.
What critics find most troubling, however, is the expansive nature of the plans and Trump’s broken promise that the construction “won’t interfere with the current building” and would be “near [the East Wing] but not touching it.” Photos and video from earlier this month showed construction crews had gone well beyond “interfering” with the East Wing; the façade was demolished and then an additional major section. Eventually, the East Wing was demolished in its entirety.
The letter from Raskin and 59 other Democrats was addressed to “President Donald J. Trump” at “What Remains of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500,” and urged him to “provide us immediately with additional information” about the demolition of the East Wing and ballroom construction, calling it a “reckless vanity project” that they believed violated the White House Preservation Act.
That 1961 law, the letter continued, “governs the care and preservation of the White House and its contents,” “requires the preservation of any ‘historic’ or ‘artistic’ property, including furniture, fixtures, and decorative objects, for the American public,” and “clearly directs the current President to transfer any historic and artistic items that are not currently being used to the Smithsonian Institution for its ‘care, study, and storage or exhibition.””
It’s not just “furniture” that’s protected under this law, the letter noted, but also “fixtures” and other “historic elements of the White House.”
“At this time, neither Congress nor the over 300 million Americans who actually own the White House are aware of what you have done to safeguard the objects in the East Wing that hold cultural and historic significance to the country,” the letter said. “We are especially troubled because you have a history of demolishing historic property without notice or consent. To clear the site for your Trump Tower in New York, you destroyed two historically significant friezes that you promised to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”
The congressional members urged the president to “immediately cease your demolition of the White House” and demanded “a detailed explanation of the process you used to conduct your demolition operation to date,” including “an inventory of all objects of historic significance in the East Wing prior to August 31, 2025 and the location of all such objects for the duration of this demolition,” “the actions that your staff has taken to transfer these objects to the custody of the Smithsonian as required by law,” “all documents and communications pertaining the decision to cancel all White House tours beginning on September 1, 2025,” and “a timeline of when the White House will resume tours and make itself available to the public.”
The letter concluded:
The White House belongs to all Americans, not one president or family. We oppose you taking a wrecking ball to your temporary residence without advising its over 300 million owners. You are the temporary occupant and steward of this structure, just like every American President since John Adams has been. You are moving forward to demolish the White House and build an extravagant and wasteful ballroom during a government shutdown while Americans face a serious health care crisis. As costs skyrocket across the country, we urge you to halt this vanity project that is razing a treasured part of our national heritage.
Read the letter and the full list of signatories here.