WASHINGTON (October 22, 2025) – On Tuesday, October 21st, the East Wing of the White House was torn down to make way for President Donald Trump’s ballroom.
For expert context on the matter, please consider these GW experts:
Sara Bronin is the Freda H. Alverson Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. Between 2023-2024, Bronin was the Biden administration appointee to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which oversees the regulatory process under the National Historic Preservation Act called Section 106. Bronin can speak to the regulatory framework in which the decision to demolish the East Wing should have been made.
“In 1966, Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) to require federal agencies to take into account the effects of their actions on historic places. As former chair of the agency overseeing the NHPA process, nicknamed Section 106, I’ve had a firsthand look at the important role federal statutes can play in requiring agencies to stop, look, and listen. While White House projects are exempted from Section 106 requirements, there are other federal statutes requiring the administration to take certain steps before they act to do anything on White House grounds,” said Bronin.
"If they had, they would have no doubt refrained from bulldozing our shared history. That’s because they would have evaluated the effects of the demolition on historic properties — including the White House, the National Mall, and all of the other historic buildings, landscapes, landmarks, and archaeological sites that might be affected — and resolved any adverse effects.”
Peter Loge is an associate professor of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. Professor Loge has more than 30 years of experience in politics and communications, including a presidential appointment at the Food and Drug Administration. He currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs.
If you would like to schedule an interview, please contact Claire Sabin at claire [dot] sabin
gwu [dot] edu (claire[dot]sabin[at]gwu[dot]edu) or Skyler Sales at skylersgwu [dot] edu (skylers[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-