[Photo Credit: Reuters]

The full East Wing of the White House will be torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, contradicting the former New York real estate magnate’s pledge that the project would not interfere with the existing U.S. landmark.

Demolition workers on Monday began ripping down the section of the White House that holds offices for the first lady and staff. Trump announced that ground had been broken on the project after images of demolition circulated in news reports, though the full extent of the tear-down only became clear two days later.

An administration official said the demolition process would likely be finished within two weeks. “We can confirm that the entire East Wing is going to be modernized and renovated to, I guess, support the … ballroom project,” the official said.

The demolition of part of one of the most historic buildings in the United States has sparked an angry outcry from many Democrats and questions about whether the Trump administration followed proper protocols. The White House has dismissed the criticism as “manufactured outrage.”

The most recent iteration of the East Wing came about in 1942 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. U.S. presidents have renovated and added to the White House and its grounds throughout history, but Trump’s changes are the most significant in decades.

The White House said on Tuesday it would submit plans for the ballroom construction for review by the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal construction in Washington and neighboring states, even though demolition had already begun.

Trump’s White House staff secretary, Will Scharf, chairs the NCPC. Scharf told Reuters on Wednesday that he had not been involved in the planning for the ballroom and would be able to look objectively when plans came before the commission.

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