Tearing it all down

Demolition at the White House

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Politics U.S. Politics U.S. By Jeff Mason, White House correspondent It would be difficult to find a more fitting metaphor for Donald Trump's presidency than a bulldozer. The Republican leader has been tearing down institutions, international norms and political foes at a rapid pace since returning to office in January. This week the metaphorical demolition became an actual one with the razing of the White House's East Wing. Democrats are outraged, Trump is unfazed, and the destruction, for better or worse, continues unchecked. Latest U.S. politics headlines Trump's shutdown pay plan prioritizes security personnel over civilian workers  Exclusive: US mulls curbs on exports to China made with US software, sources say  Exclusive: Wide-ranging group of US officials pursues Trump's fight against 'Deep State'  Looking for a way forward, Democrats zero in on affordability  Voting Rights Act faces a near-death experience at US Supreme Court  Transparency?   When the president announced in July that he intended to build a grand ballroom at the White House, he made a point of saying the massive new structure would not interfere with the current one, perhaps the country's most famous and historic building.    "It won't interfere with the current building," Trump said then. "It'll be near it but not touching it."  So, imagine the surprise, and, for some, shock and anger, this week when demolition vehicles started ripping into the White House East Wing. Images and video of collapsing walls and clouds of debris at the long-proclaimed "people's house" caught much of the country off guard, prompting calls to halt the project pending a proper review.  It's largely too late for that, at least regarding demolition, which is well under way, but an administration official told me on Tuesday that the White House still intends to submit plans for the ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission.    And who should chair that group but a top White House aide to Trump, Will Scharf.   "I've played no role ... in the planning process here at the White House for the ballroom, and I take my duties as NCPC chairman very seriously," Scharf, who serves as White House staff secretary, told me in an interview on Wednesday.  The White House says the plans have been clear for some time, and Trump's desire to make changes is hardly a surprise. His supporters like his take-no-prisoners style and the president repeatedly describes his November 2024 election victory as a mandate to do what he wants to do. A White House makeover is clearly on that list. The review will likely take three months and will include opportunities for public comment. I asked the president in the Oval Office yesterday about critics' concerns that the process has not been transparent. His response was to call me a "third-rate" reporter. But he was ready for the topic: a model of the White House grounds, with the new ballroom replacing the East Wing, sat on a table in front of him as he spoke.  While the president is not backing away from plans to remake the White House, he is retreating on another matter: a proposed meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Instead, Trump and his team, frustrated by Moscow's refusal to pursue peace with Ukraine, imposed new sanctions on Russia on Wednesday. When I asked the president about the sanctions, he said he simply thought it was time.  Trump leaves for Asia on Friday, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in hopes of striking a deal between the world's two biggest economies. While he is away, the U.S. government remains shut down and the demolition of the East Wing continues -- perhaps a fitting tableau of upheaval in Trump's wake.      How worried are you about US political division and conflict? An increasing share say they are worried a great deal, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos survey   Follow Reuters/Ipsos polling on the president's approval ratings here. The view from the Vatican Pope Leo decried mistreatment of immigrants as a "grave crime" on Thursday, pressing ahead with a message of welcome for migrants weeks after criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies.  Photo of the week   A demolition crew takes apart the facade of the East Wing of the White House, where U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst What to watch for October 24: Trump departs for Asia, where he is expected to visit Malaysia, Japan and attend an APEC summit in South Korea October 24: Tens of thousands of civil servants will not receive a full paycheck for the first time since government shutdown began  October 24: New York Attorney General Letitia James is due in court in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is expected to plead not guilty to mortgage fraud charges urged by the Trump administration.  November 1: The start of the sign-up period for Affordable Care Act coverage, so the 24 million Americans who get their insurance this way will see how much it will cost next year  The who, what and when How plastic whistles are becoming an anti-ICE resistance tool in Chicago  Major cases involving Trump before the US Supreme Court  How the US government shutdown affects key economic data publishing  Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. 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