The White House has begun tearing down the historic East Wing of the building, which for decades has been home to the first lady’s office, despite President Trump’s pledge to keep the presidential home intact as his new ballroom is being built. The apparent demolition was reported by the Washington Post. 

A photo shared with the Post shows a backhoe tearing down parts of the East Wing as several men in reflective jackets and hard hats look on. It appears that the entirety of the East Wing may be torn down, given that the photo shows damage done to the roof by the backhoe. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Sun seeking clarification about exactly how far this demolition will go. 

In July, when he announced he would raise hundreds of millions of dollars to build a new ballroom, Mr. Trump promised to leave the entirety of the White House intact. 

“It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “It’ll be near it but not touching it.”

“It’s my favorite. It’s my favorite place. I love it,” he said of his temporary home. 

Last week, the president held a dinner at the White House for donors who are giving money to help construct the new 90,000 square-foot ballroom. Attendees included billionaires Harold Hamm, Steve Schwarzman, and Kelly Loeffler. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who are now major cryptocurrency investors, were also in attendance. 

The first iteration of the East Wing was built during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration as an entranceway for visitors and the public, though first lady Edith Wilson had a secretary who worked out of the area. 

The modern East Wing was first configured during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s term after the construction of the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, which is an underground bunker used by presidents during national security emergencies. Vice President Cheney was famously rushed to the bunker on September 11, 2001, where he helped coordinate a response to the Al Qaeda terror attacks. 

Following the construction of the office space over the presidential bunker, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt hired a social secretary and calligraphers to handle her personal affairs and other White House social responsibilities. Other first ladies used the area sporadically, though first lady Rosalynn Carter became the first presidential spouse to hire a staff and use her East Wing office full-time. 

The apparent demolition of the East Wing marks just the first of many physical changes Mr. Trump has made to the White House. Most notably, he has torn up the Rose Garden and replaced it with a stone patio, where he holds court with some of the country’s wealthiest business executives and most powerful members of Congress. The furniture pieces on the new Rose Garden patio appear to be exact replicas of the tables, chairs, and umbrellas that the president keeps on his patio at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.