Inside the East Wing: The Space That Defined Women’s Leadership in the White House
For 48 years, the East Wing helped give women a voice. This week, demolition began without required approval.
On a Monday morning, as most of us were getting our children to school or settling into work, demolition crews began tearing down the East Wing of the White House.
Not just renovating it or fixing the foundation. Tearing it down fully.
Demolition began October 20th and is expected to be complete within days. And with it, they’re erasing 123 years of American history including nearly five decades of hard-won space where First Ladies finally had offices of their own and where they built programs that changed millions of lives, where women who had no salary and no official job title showed that they were essential to this country.
The offices where Betty Ford helped modernize the role of First Lady, speaking openly about breast cancer, addiction, and women’s rights, where Rosalynn Carter redefined what it meant to use that role for policy and advocacy and where Michelle Obama launched “Let’s Move” have now turned to dust and debris.
Three months ago, the White House said nothing would be torn down.
The Office with Influence
1977. A Sunday school teacher from Plains, Georgia becomes the First Lady. Rosalynn Carter could have done what so many before her did, work from her private residence, stay out of sight and host teas and smile.
Instead she did something radical. She showed up to an office in the East Wing daily. She showed up with her staff and policy papers, a briefcase, calendar and determination to be taken seriously.
She attended Cabinet meetings. She testified before Congress about mental health reform. She traveled to other countries as a diplomatic representative. And she did it all from her office in the East Wing. She was the first First Lady to claim that space as her own professional home.
Before Rosalynn Carter, First Ladies worked in the shadows.
After her, they had a seat at the table.
Betty Ford’s example paved the way and she showed that a First Lady could speak publicly and boldly about social issues without apology. Rosalynn Carter built on that example, becoming the first to formally establish a working East Wing office with a full policy staff. And so did Nancy Reagan, when she wasn’t working from the residence.
Hillary Clinton transformed the East Wing into a policy hub during healthcare reform.
Michelle Obama used it as the headquarters for Let’s Move and Joining Forces.
Dr. Jill Biden’s staff used the East Wing during her term in the White House, and in the months after the administration changed, parts of that space were reassigned to other offices, signaling the end of the era when the wing served as a dedicated base for the First Lady.
For 48 years, that wing represented something sentimental and powerful: That women’s work in American democracy wasn’t invisible anymore and it had a dedicated place. It had office space and it had permanence.
Until Monday morning, October 20th, 2025. When the wrecking equipment showed up and demolition began.
“Plans Changed”
On July 31st of this year, the White House announced plans for a massive new ballroom. 90,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the entire White House. Big enough to seat 650 guests, later expanded to 999.
Cost: Initially announced as $200 million, with recent estimates ranging up to $300 million, funded entirely by private donors.
President Trump said the new ballroom would be “near it but not touching it” and would “pay total respect to the existing building.”
We believed them. Or at least, we wanted to.
Three months later, on October 20th, the demolition began. By October 22nd, this past Wednesday, a White House official admitted to The New York Times: They’re demolishing the entire East Wing.
When reporters asked why, the official said, “Plans changed.”
How do you feel when you hear “plans changed” after a direct promise? Have you experienced this in your own life, being told one thing, then watching something completely different happen? Is this an appropriate response to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
The History They’re Erasing
Let’s go back further, because the East Wing’s story is the story of America itself — not the America of campaign slogans, but the one in quiet halls and hidden shifts of power.
In 1902, Theodore Roosevelt added the first version of the East Wing. It was modest. Elegant. Proportional to the residence. Its primary function: a formal guest entrance, a cloakroom for ladies’ wraps and gentlemen’s overcoats, a place of hospitality and welcome.
Then in 1942, amid World War II, the wing was expanded into a full two-story structure. Publicly it was to provide additional office space for wartime needs. But key to the design: it covered the creation of an underground presidential shelter.
That wing stood strong for nearly 83 years through the Cold War when nuclear threat loomed, through 9/11 when we saw the fragility of what we took for granted, through every transition of power and every test of democracy.
And then came Monday… When the machinery moved in… And the building that held all those layers of our history started being torn down.
The Money $$$
This ballroom is estimated to cost between $250 million and $300 million. Reports vary. We’re being told it’s entirely funded by private donors and not tax dollars.
We still don’t have a full list of who those donors are. The administration says they’ll disclose the names eventually, but “eventually” isn’t now, and the wrecking balls are already swinging. As of October 22, the East Wing is being torn down, and officials say a full demolition is imminent.
Would you let a stranger pay for renovations to your house without seeing who they were or what they want in return? Because that’s what’s happening at the People’s House.
Some donor details have emerged: Reported filings show that Alphabet contributed around $22 million as part of a settlement. Contractors such as Carrier are cited as donating major components (the HVAC system). On October 15, a dinner at the White House was attended by tech giants, defense contractors and crypto investor industries with clear interests in government.
The people paying for this ballroom could also be the people seeking favorable treatment from the government. And we still don’t know the full roster of who’s buying this kind of access.
The Woman Who Won’t Have an Office
Right now, we don’t know who will win the 2028 presidential election. But we do know that if it’s a man, his wife, husband, or partner will be First Lady, First Gentleman, or First Spouse. And that person, whoever they are, whatever party they belong to, won’t have the office space that eight First Ladies before them had.
The ballroom will be there. 90,000 square feet for parties and state dinners.
Room for 999 guests to eat and drink and celebrate.
But the office where Rosalynn Carter testified before Congress about mental health? The office where Betty Ford’s staff coordinated her groundbreaking breast cancer advocacy? The office where Hillary Clinton’s team worked on healthcare reform? The office where Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move and helped change school lunches for millions of American children?
That space where real work happened, is now a construction site for a party room.
What Nobody Had Permission to Do
There’s a federal agency called the National Capital Planning Commission.
By law, it reviews and approves major construction and renovation projects on federal property in Washington, D.C.
Its purpose is to protect historic architecture, ensure responsible design, and prevent powerful people from changing national landmarks without oversight.
The White House hasn’t submitted formal plans to that commission for the new ballroom. They just started demolishing.
When that drew attention, President Trump appointed Will Scharf, his White House Staff Secretary, to chair the very agency meant to provide independent review. So the person now overseeing approvals for Trump’s construction project also works directly for him inside the West Wing.
At a September meeting, Scharf argued that the commission only has jurisdiction over building, not tearing down. In other words: Demolition first and paperwork later.
Maybe they’ll submit plans once the new structure is ready to rise. But by then, the East Wing, the historic space they were supposed to protect will already be gone.
It’s another Trump power move.
Look for The Pattern
History teaches us that bad things rarely happen all at once. They arrive in stages. Small violations lead to bigger ones and what feels unthinkable one year becomes routine the next.
Here’s the pattern:
Stage 1: Make a public claim. (“We will respect the building.”)
Stage 2: Put loyalists in charge of oversight. (Appoint your own people to the commission.)
Stage 3: Find a loophole. (Demolition doesn’t need approval, only construction does.)
Stage 4: Move fast. (Start destroying before anyone can intervene.)
Stage 5: When caught, say “Plans change”. (“Dismiss it without accountability.”)
Stage 6: Create the precedent. (Next time will be easier.)
This isn’t new.
It’s the same slow erosion that’s played out in every democracy that’s lost its footing.
The first bypass is always shocking.
Watchdogs protest.
Agencies push back.
Historians write letters no one reads.
And then it happens again, maybe under a different leader. Maybe for a “temporary measure.” Each time, it becomes easier for them. Because there’s precedent now and someone else already did it.
Is This Patriotic?
They keep calling the donors patriots and generous Americans. People who “love their country” so much they’re willing to fund a ballroom at the White House.
Patriotism means respecting the processes that protect our shared heritage, even when those processes are slow, inconvenient, or in the way of a photo op.
Patriotism means being transparent about who’s paying for changes to the People’s House.
Patriotism means protecting the hard-won spaces where women finally had a seat at the table and not clearing them out to make room for a party.
Patriotism means submitting to oversight especially when you hold the highest office in our country.
And patriotism means understanding that the White House doesn’t belong to a president. It belongs to us, the people.
My grandmother used to say that you can tell what people value by what they protect and by what they’re willing to destroy. They’re destroying the offices where generations of First Ladies served the country, to build a ballroom for billionaire donors. What does that tell you about what they value?
The Women Watching This Happen
Rosalynn Carter passed away in November 2023, just shy of seeing it. Maybe that’s a mercy for her. But her daughter and grandchildren are watching and they know what that office meant to her and to the generations who followed.
Dr. Jill Biden : Just before this administration took office, her staff worked from that East Wing. She built education and military-family initiatives from those offices and knows what’s being lost.
Michelle Obama : Her East Wing team transformed school lunch programs and championed healthy families from those same rooms.
Hillary Clinton : Love her or hate her, she proved that a First Lady could be a change-maker in her own right. And she did it from that space.
Even Melania Trump is watching, though she famously spent less time in the East Wing than her predecessors. And that, too, says that when women’s institutional space becomes optional, it becomes expendable.
I wonder what they feel. Watching their legacy offices turned to rubble. Watching it happen without full approval and seeing it happen to make room for a privately funded ballroom.
And I wonder about the women who will never get to work there, the future First Ladies who will never have what Rosalynn Carter fought to give them.
What are we telling them about how much we value women’s work?
What Past Presidents Did Differently
Sure, presidents have always modified the White House, but the comparisons matter.
When Theodore Roosevelt added the West Wing in 1902, he went through the proper architectural review process. Critics accused him of ruining the mansion’s historic character. The Washington Post called it “an affront to history.” But Roosevelt followed procedure. He sought approval. He faced the criticism head-on.
When Franklin D. Roosevelt expanded the East Wing in 1942, the very wing now being demolished, he did it during wartime, which sparked outrage among congressional Republicans. They called it wasteful spending while Americans were fighting overseas. But Roosevelt explained the purpose: the expansion concealed construction of an underground emergency bunker, later known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC). He submitted the plans for review, and the project’s necessity eventually won support.
When Harry Truman gutted the White House interior between 1948 and 1952, it was because engineers warned the structure was on the verge of collapse. The Truman family moved across the street to Blair House for four years while workers rebuilt the mansion from the inside out. Truman even faced backlash for adding a balcony to the South Portico, and still sought approval through the proper channels. He didn’t just start construction.
When Jacqueline Kennedy redesigned the Rose Garden in 1962, she collaborated with landscape architect Rachel Lambert Mellon, presented detailed plans, and endured critics who said it was too modern. Americans eventually came to cherish it.
The difference is that they followed the process and respected oversight. They faced their critics and worked within the system even when the system was slow and frustrating.
In a democracy, you respect the rules.
Especially when you’re the most powerful person in the room.
What We Can Do
1. Submit a FOIA Request
The Freedom of Information Act gives every American the right to request government records. Ask for the donor list. Ask for communications about the demolition. Ask for the timeline of who approved what and when.
It’s free, it’s your right, do it today! Click Here!
2. Contact Your Representatives
Call your Senators and House member. Ask them to sponsor legislation requiring full donor disclosure before any White House construction begins.
Keep it simple: “No construction without transparency.”
3. Support the National Trust for Historic Preservation
They’ve already raised concerns about this project. They need public pressure behind them. Amplify their voice. —> Save the East Wing Petition
4. Make It Electoral
When 2026 and 2028 candidates ask for your vote, ask them:
“Will you commit to full oversight and transparency in presidential projects?”
Make them answer and make it specific.
5. Talk About It
Share this post because this story needs to reach people who haven’t heard it yet.
Your aunt who loves White House history, your book club friends and your daughter studying American civics.
6. Teach the Pattern
That six-stage pattern from earlier in this post, that’s a pattern.
Every time you see fast-tracked decisions, loyalists in oversight roles, broken promises, or secrecy about money… call it out.
Name the pattern and make people see it.
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
And once enough of us see it, change becomes possible.
What We Owe to Tomorrow
There’s a concept in environmental conservation called intergenerational equity.
It means we don’t own the world, we’re borrowing it from our children.
The same is true of our democracy. And of the buildings that symbolize it.
We didn’t build the White House, others did. And people who came before us designed it, expanded it, argued over it, and protected it. They understood that it wasn’t theirs to keep. It was theirs to preserve for the generations who would come after them. For us.
The East Wing demolition is already underway.
By the time you read this, it may be gone.
We can’t rebuild what’s lost.
But we can decide that this is where it stops.
Thank you for reading and for believing that protecting our shared heritage is still worth the effort.
Before you go
Join nearly 80,000 readers who believe that understanding where we’ve been is important to protecting where we’re going.
With respect for our history and hope for our future,
The 50501 Movement Substack
I grew up in DC taking family there for tours throughout my life. I was in Crystal City VA on 9/11/2001. That afternoon I drove past the Pentagon in tears. How dare anyone attack our country like this. Washington DC and its monuments hold are dear to me. When I woke up to pictures of the White House I thought it was attacked. It looked like the Pentagon on 9/11/2001 the difference being no smoldering smoke and it was a Domestic Terrorist. There were troops heading up 95 to guard our Nation’s capital. The current President. He is the Domestic Terrorist. He has troops in neighborhoods where there is little if any crime just for show of power. I swore an oath to defend the Constitution against domestic and international threats when I became an employee of the DOD. But honestly I had done that since I was a child of a naval officer. This must be stopped and he must be removed. I am physically and emotionally sick over this.
Every day a new outrage. This is really too much. Isn’t anyone going to stop him?