WASHINGTON (AP) — The entire White House East Wing has been demolished as President Donald Trump moves forward with construction of a ballroom , according to photos taken Thursday by The Associated Press.

The East Wing, where first ladies created history, planned state dinners and promoted causes, is now history itself. The two-story structure of drawing rooms and offices, including workspace for first ladies and their staffs, has been turned into rubble , demolished as part of the Republican president’s plan to build a ballroom nearly twice the size of the White House at an updated cost of $300 million.

Trump said Wednesday that keeping the East Wing as is would have “hurt a very, very expensive, beautiful building,” referring to the ballroom that he said presidents have wanted for

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