For months, President Donald Trump has touted plans for a new White House ballroom , a 90,000-square-foot behemoth just off the storied East Wing, which traditionally houses the office and staff of the First Lady. This week, images emerged of a full-scale demolition of the East Wing after repeated assurances from Trump and White House officials that the structure would not be touched as part of the construction.

I spoke with Sara Bronin , a professor at George Washington University Law School and the former chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, about whether Trump’s ballroom plans run afoul of preservation law and if any future projects can be halted.

To start, what were your initial reactions to the images we saw this week?

I think most Americans looked at t

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