Proposals for a second story to an iconic space and the actual height of the ballroom were discussed during a public meeting.

The other side: Baranes said his team made the decision when it joined the project last year that it wouldn't pursue plans to expand its existing scope, and that their goal is "a thoughtful middle ground" that maintains "the visual primacy of the White House."

An advocacy group has sued the Trump administration over concerns the president’s sudden demolition of the White House East Wing exposed workers and the public to cancer-causing building materials. President Donald Trump’s decision to secretly raze the East Wing to make way for his $400 million ballroom project quickly sparked concerns about asbestos,

Public health advocates sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to compel officials to disclose whether their rapid demolition of the White House's East Wing annex exposed workers or the public to hazardous building materials.

When President Donald Trump leveled the East Wing of the White House, an interior designer sounded the alarm about a key safety issue facing the demolition of the East Wing of the White House: asbestos.