The construction of President Donald Trump’s planned $250 million White House ballroom has officially begun, and it appears to involve the demolition of part of the East Wing.

Trump confirmed in a speech on Monday that construction had “just started” on the ballroom. The same day, photos and video surfaced that showed demolition underway on the East Wing. The Washington Post first reported on the activity.

When announcing the ballroom’s coming construction in July, the White House said that it would be “where the small, heavily changed, and reconstructed East Wing currently sits,” though it said the “White House Ballroom will be substantially separated from the main building of the White House.”

Trump himself previously said that the 90,000 square foot expansion wouldn’t “in

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