Trump dislikes the tradition of having state dinners and other large events in tents on the South Lawn The new party room is financed by "many generous patriots, great American companies and yours truly," the president posted last week on his Truth Social site. It will seat up to 1,000 people, fill 90,000 square feet and cost an estimated $300 million – up from $200 million originally. It'll be larger than the White House’s 55,000-square-foot central portion where the president lives. Official illustrations show a strong resemblance to a gilded ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club and home in Palm Beach, Fla.

Trump announced the project in July, describing it as an addition or expansion – not a replacement of the entire East Wing, built in 1942 and hastily demolished last week. That abrupt surprise – which happened without congressional review or public discussion – draws criticism from historians, architects, ethics experts and elected Democrats. "It's not his house. It's your house. And he's destroying it," posts Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump and earlier lived in the White House when her husband Bill Clinton served two terms (1993-2001). The American Institute of Architects in Washington also expresses concern. "The White House is not a private building," a statement says. "Any modifications to it – especially modifications of this magnitude – should reflect the importance, scale and symbolic weight of the White House itself."

This largest renovation to the White House in decades follows other design changes requested by Trump since his second term began in January. (The first was from 2017-21 before Joe Biden was president.) The Rose Garden has become a patio with stone tiles and tables with striped umbrellas. The Oval Office where he works and the Cabinet Room where he meets with department heads glitter with gold frames, wall decor, vases and other shiny accents. Towering flagpoles were added on the north and south lawns. Trump's construction ideas reach beyond his temporary home. He wants a stone arch resembling France's iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Washington version would be in front of Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial.

Trump says: "In order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure. . . . . I think it'll be one of the great ballrooms anywhere in the world."

Architecture group says: "Such a significant change to a historic building of this import should follow a rigorous and deliberate design and review process." - Society of Architectural Historians, based in Chicago

Senator says: "It was just destroyed without any conversation in the American public, without any consent of Congress. It was absolutely illegal. That visual is powerful because you are essentially watching the destruction of the rule of law happen as those walls come down." – Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.