WASHINGTON ‒ By a 2-to-1 margin, Americans oppose President Donald Trump's controversial demolition of the White House's East Wing and his plans to construct a 90,000 square-foot ballroom, according to a new poll.

A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found 56% of Americans oppose the demolition and ballroom project ‒ including 45% who said they "strongly oppose" it. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents said they support the plans. Only 15% of those polled said they "strongly support" the project.

Demolition crews, at the Trump administration's direction, last week abruptly torn down the historic White House East Wing, where the first lady's staff offices are located, to make way for Trump's future $300 million ballroom, which he's said he will use private donations to pay for.

The demolition was not subject to the same review processes that restrict teardowns of other historic buildings. The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires reviews of projects that affect most historic buildings, but the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol are exempt.

The poll, released Oct. 30 and conducted Oct. 24 to Oct. 28, was based on a sample of 725 adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

Trump has said the ballroom ‒ which will have a capacity of more than 900 people ‒ is needed to hold large White House events that currently take place outdoors or in the much smaller East Room.

Prior to the East Wing demolition, the White House did not submit the ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, the central planning agency of the federal government. The White House has argued that under federal law the 12-member panel only reviews construction projects, not demolitions of existing buildings.

The White House said it plans to later submit ballroom plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which is expected to green-light the project given Trump's heavy influence on the 12-member board.

Three of the panel's five appointed members are Trump officials, including the commission's chair, Will Scharf, who serves as White House staff secretary. The board's ex-officio members include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum; Acting Administrator of General Services Michael Rigas and two Republican lawmakers, Rep. James Comer and Sen. Rand Paul, who chair the House and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, respectively.

The White House this week fired all six members of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency tasked with advising on the design elements of the ballroom.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Most Americans oppose Trump's East Wing demolition, ballroom plans, poll finds

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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