Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was right when he told reporters this week that the historical home and workplace of the president has been renovated many times before.
"Teddy Roosevelt built the whole West Wing... Taft, I think added the Oval Office... Truman ripped up the whole thing to put a bowling alley in. FDR added the swimming pool, I think. Barack Obama added a basketball court," he said. "President Trump is going to add the greatest improvement in the history of the building."
But the scope and planning of the ballroom President Trump wants to build is being called unprecedented.
President Trump first floated the idea of a "much needed" 90,000 square foot ballroom back in July. He said the project would cost about $200 million and that the current footprint of the White House would not be affected.
"It’ll be near it but not touching it," he said in a press conference.
However, the New York Times reported this week that plans have changed. Construction crews will now demolish the entire East Wing of the building, clearing the way for a ballroom that would nearly double the size of the White House.
The President defended the project Wednesday saying the massive ballroom, which will seat nearly 1,000 people, is needed for hosting major functions such as visits by world leaders and other dignitaries to the U.S. He showed what appeared to be renderings of the project once its complete to reporters.
"There won't be anything like it," he said. "And it's being paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine - donors. The government is paying absolutely nothing."
Those private donors, according to reporting by The Hill, include major companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft as well as wealthy individuals like Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman. The project is now expected to cost about $300 million.
Multiple preservationists groups have expressed concerns with the lack of transparency on the project since July.
In August, the American Institute of Architects issued a formal recommendation to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House that called for "rigorous oversight of the East Ballroom project."
The Society of Architectural Historians - an international network of art historians, architects and preservationists - released a statement this month expressing concern with the how fast plans got off the ground.
Priya Jain is chair of the society's Heritage Conservation Committee. Her main concerns are with the potential impact to the rest of the White House Complex - including the Executive Mansion and the grounds.
"It is not really about freezing or stopping change," she said. "It is about managing that change in a matter that does not harm the existing structure."
Jain said the lack of red tape around redevelopment is because the White House is exempt from the Section 106 review process of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which typically requires buildings go through a rigorous public review process and design phase.
But she said Presidents are still encouraged to involve agencies like the U.S. Fine Arts Commission and National Capital Planning Commission, which provides planning guidance for Washington, D.C.
This is such a significant and visible project, it will have an impact on the wider historic preservation practice, policy and the treatment of federal buildings in the United States," Jain said. "So we urged them to set a positive precedent in their deliberations and reviews."
Many lawmakers, including some in Maine, are saying a project of this scale should have at least been reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission.
"This house doesn't belong to him. It belongs to the American people," Independent Senator Angus King said. "It's a historic building, and it was expressly designed to not be a palace because the framers of this country wanted this to be a republic, a democracy, not a not a monarchy."
Democratic congresswoman Chellie Pingree sits on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing the National Park Service.
On Wednesday she sent a letter to the President demanding construction pause until further review. It calls attention to the ongoing federal government shutdown which affected the agencies with jurisdiction.
"During the same week that the President says 'we're going to cut off SNAP benefits, food aid to people in states all over the country, starting on November 1, but oh, by the way, I brought in the bulldozers, and I'm spending $300 million on a gala ballroom so I can host fancy events.' If nothing else. It's tone deaf," Pingree said
Democratic Congressman Jared Golden declined to comment, and Republican Senator Susan Collins did not provide a statement in time for publication.
The Trump administration has emphasized the importance of having the ballroom completed “long before” the end of Trump’s term.
NOTE: Republican Senator Susan Collins sent the following statement to Maine Public after initial publication:
"While many Presidents, including President Obama, have made changes to the White House and its grounds, President Trump’s renovations of the East Wing could alter the historic nature of the building. I haven’t seen the plans, but historical preservation groups have questioned them."
