Trump, Administration Heads Sued Over East Wing Demolition (1)

President Donald Trump and several administration officials were hit with a lawsuit Friday over the demolition of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square foot ballroom.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever,” the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States said in a complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

The White House’s demolition of the East Wing in October to make way for the $300 million ballroom—the most significant change to the building’s exterior in decades—has faced criticism over the potential impacts to its preservation and environment. The administration’s plans to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building are also being challenged by preservationists.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to Bloomberg Law that the president “has full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House—just like all of his predecessors did.”

The Department of the Interior and other federal agency defendants didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The White House announced plans for the ballroom in July. Trump initially said the proposed ballroom wouldn’t interfere with the East Wing, and that it would only be near the building, the suit says.

The administration broke ground Oct. 20, and the East Wing was completely demolished within days. Administration officials have repeatedly stated the president can demolish anything he wants on the White House grounds, and only needs approval for vertical construction, according to the complaint.

But the site is already filled with workers and materials to advance Trump’s plans to erect a building on the White House grounds, not continue demolition. And the president can’t execute such a project without obtaining approval from Congress and federal commissions who oversee development in the district. The administration also hasn’t released any findings of environmental reviews, if they were conducted, or allowed public input about a ballroom on public property, the trust says.

The nonprofit, which aims to preserve historical sites, claims it contacted the National Park Service, National Capital Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts urging construction to stop to initiate review procedures. The trust says it received no response.

The suit asserts violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and separation of powers principles. It seeks a court order barring the administration from continuing work on the project until after obtaining necessary approvals and conducting environmental studies.

Foley Hoag LLP represents the trust.

The case is Nat’l Tr. for Hist. Pres. in the US v. Nat’l Park Serv., D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-04316, complaint filed 12/12/25.