Members of Congress are divided largely along party lines on the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that President Donald Trump wants to build
They’re divided along party lines on policy. They’re divided on the government shutdown. And now federal lawmakers are divided on the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make room for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that President Donald Trump wants to build.
The stunning images of the teardown this week have left Democratic lawmakers incensed. Republicans, meanwhile, are likening it to a long line of White House renovations over the years. There was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s swimming pool addition, now covered over, they said. There was Barack Obama’s basketball court, a tennis court adapted so that it could be used for tennis and basketball. And William Taft added the Oval Office, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted.
“The ballroom is going to be glorious,” Johnson said.
Across the Capitol, Democratic senators incorporated the teardown photos into Sen. Jeff Merkley’s 22 hour-plus speech on the Senate floor.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., showed Merkley a picture of the smashed East Wing and asked the Oregon senator to describe what he saw and the significance of it.
