[Global Network Reporter Li Ziyu] According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) and The New York Post, the construction team started the demolition of some buildings in the east wing of the White House on the 20th local time, so as to make room for US President Trump to build a new "top" banquet hall at a cost of about $250 million.

The New York Post quoted the scene footage as saying that the windows of parts of the Eastern Wing of the White House building had been broken and a huge hole appeared on the wall. A large demolition machine deep inside the building cleansed the debris, while water pipes sprayed to suppress dust.

NBC said that Trump said in July that the new banquet hall project "will not affect the existing buildings (of the White House)". The White House has not yet responded to questions such as how many buildings it plans to demolish.

Trump has complained that for large events that the White House can¡¯t accommodate, it¡¯s usually only to set up a tent to host guests on the White House¡¯s southern lawn. Last month he said the newly-built banquet hall could accommodate up to 900 people, almost 40% more than the original 650 planned. Trump also said he would fund the ¡°self-funded¡± expansion of the White House with the support of private donors. The project was initially expected to cost $200 million, but at a dinner last week for the project¡¯s main donors, Trump confirmed that the new price was about $25 billion.

Earlier, the White House issued a statement on July 31 local time saying that it would cost the White House about $200 million to build a new "beautifully designed, well-built" banquet hall, and released a set of design maps.The US broadcaster (ABC) said Trump also talked about the project when signing an executive order at the White House later on July 31, saying that he hired "the best architects and engineers" to build the banquet hall, it would be "top".

Although Trump's team tried its best to publicize the necessity of the banquet hall, many Democrats and critics expressed strong opposition. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Schumer condemned the project on social media. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the significance of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)." "Things are cut from you, and instead of sending them where they are needed, they are handed over to those big shots who control the overall situation."

According to the Beast Daily, although Trump's assistant said the party hall was funded by his own and donors, it was still controversial that the party hall would continue construction during the US government's "stop-down". Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia revealed in an interview on October 2 that the new party hall was being investigated by the committee to find out whether foreign funding was provided, and other potential misconduct in the construction process.