The East Wing in the White House no longer stands, and in its place, a $300 million ballroom is being built. But is this really necessary?
The short answer is no, it’s really not.
President Donald Trump has officially demolished the East Wing of the White House, a completely sudden project that has angered and confused millions.
Knocking down the East Wing and construction to build the ballroom began on October 20th. Since this announcement, people have been arguing over whether he made the right move.
Does a president with only three years left of his second term really need to build a ballroom? Is erasing decades of history worth it to be able to host better parties?
Most people would say no, yet the Trump Administration makes a point that “For more than a century, U.S. Presidents have been renovating, expanding, and modernizing the White House to meet the needs of the present day.”
It’s true that Presidents have been making changes and additions to the White House for years. They add anything they may need during their term. In 1929, President Hoover remodeled the West Wing because of a fire, and in 1942, President Roosevelt added a pool for his polio therapy to the West Wing and relocated the Oval Office for accessibility, then built the East Wing to cover a bunker during World War II.
Both Hoover and Roosevelt added to what was already there; neither destroyed any part of the White House. The White House is a sacred place that should not be messed with. Expanding is one thing, but tearing down an entire wing for no real reason is excessive.
A major issue with this project is the money, or more so, where it came from. In 1948, President Truman added a balcony to the second floor of the White House during his term, financing it with funds from the White House account. In total, the balcony cost $16,000 and was the first exterior renovation since 1829.
Unlike Truman, Trump’s renovations are being funded privately, not by refinancing funds that are already available. Yet again, the rich band together to lend a hand but refuse to give to those who are actually in need.
There is one critical difference between these two renovations: Truman received congressional approval for this renovation.
Trump did not.
There are many steps a President is supposed to take when seeking to make changes to the White House, including getting their project approved by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC).
Trump did not submit a plan for the ballroom to the NCPC for approval to start this endeavor. Usually, the NCPC handles both the demolition and construction for these projects, but this time, they were left out of the plan. Instead, Clark Construction was hired as the general contractor, and AECOM was hired as the engineering team.
Because Trump did not obtain the proper approvals before starting this project, it should have been delayed, yet it was not. Without approval from the NCPC and no consultation from Congress, it should have been impossible, but there was nothing that anyone could do to postpone the demolition of the East Wing.
This announcement has sparked discussions about the power a president should have, and Americans are saddened to see so much history lost forever.
Does Trump even plan on leaving the White House after his term ends? Or will he find a way to stay? How was Trump able to demolish the East Wing despite several people pushing against him to stop this project?
There needs to be a way to hold him accountable, and we should not forget that there is a difference between what Trump is doing to the White House and what previous presidents have done, and that lies in the lack of approval.
Since this statement, many people, regardless of political affiliation, have expressed outrage over this quick-moving project and why it happened in the first place.
A statement from the official White House website said, “In the latest instance of manufactured outrage, unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House—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.”
In this statement, the Trump Administration claims that the construction of this ballroom is a “necessary addition” to the White House. Though it is just another example of presidents abusing their power to do whatever they want.
The Trump Administration seems keen on turning everyone against Democrats and liberals. In this statement, there was no reason to attack anyone, no matter what political party they are a part of.
Trump should represent all of the American people, not just the ones who agree with him.
There is no conservative vs liberal. We are all people who are affected by the decisions that the government makes. Although the White House renovation does not directly affect us, it does bring up a question: What else will Trump do without the proper approval?
People aren’t really that upset about the White House changing; they are mad about the lack of congressional approval and the cost of this project, especially after the recent cuts to SNAP benefits.
The scariest part of these recent developments is the realization of how little power we truly have and how even Congress cannot stop Trump from doing what he wants.
No president should be able to overrule the necessary steps put in place to ensure that actions are carried out the way that they always have been. We have rules that need to be followed so that no one person holds the power and that everyone is represented by Congress.
Without this, we’re powerless.
If actions like these are part of “Making America Great Again,” then I’m positive we all have different definitions of the word “great.”
