Melania Trump has been silent on demolition of the East Wing, home to first ladies for decades

By Betsy Klein, CNN

(CNN) — As the walls come down on the part of the White House that’s been synonymous with American first ladies for decades, Melania Trump has remained silent.

The first lady has not publicly spoken about the demolition of the East Wing, which has served as the headquarters for presidential spouses since the Carter administration, even though its destruction has now upended her team’s office space and forced the halt of White House tours for the general public.

Her office declined to comment when asked by CNN if she had a reaction to the gutting of the historic wing. Crews began work this week to build President Donald Trump’s long-sought ballroom — sparking outcry among some former East Wing staffers of both parties. Asked if the first lady is supportive of the project, her office would not say.

Melania Trump has spent minimal time in the East Wing — which has long served as the entry point for grand White House events like state dinners and receptions — during her husband’s second term in office, eschewing the nation’s capital for New York and Palm Beach, where she spends the vast majority of her time.

In Washington, she employs a skeletal staff compared to the first term — with just five full-time staff members as of July — but those staffers have relocated during the construction to other office space on White House grounds, according to a White House official.

The Office of the First Lady and the social office — which oversees major events at the White House — are now inside the executive mansion, split between the Vermeil Room, the South Mezzanine, the Library and the China Room. Other departments that had office space in the East Wing have been moved to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, including the White House Military Office, the calligraphers, the White House Visitors Office, and the Office of Legislative Affairs, the official said.

The White House has not responded to CNN’s inquiry as to whether plans for the ballroom construction will include permanent replacement office space for the first lady’s staff.

But the scope of the renovations — and the lack of messaging from Melania Trump’s office — underscores the first lady’s changed role in Washington, which is a departure from her tenure during the first term and that of former first ladies.

In her husband’s first term, Trump was an active steward of White House preservation. She helped oversee the restoration of the Bellangé suite of furniture in the Blue Room. She replaced the rug in the Diplomatic Reception Room. She was involved in a 2020 redesign of the White House Rose Garden – an effort to improve drainage and audio-visual equipment that drew criticism at the time. And shortly after the 2020 election, she unveiled a new White House tennis pavilion, which subsequently won multiple architectural awards.

This time around, her husband has spearheaded major projects – and she has declined to weigh in publicly.

“Watching the demolition is the physical embodiment of watching the first lady’s role become smaller and smaller,” said Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First Women,” a book exploring the power and role of modern first ladies.

Brower added: “She’s making it clear that – like her husband – she’s not going to be like any other first lady. … She doesn’t care about historic precedent, either.”

The East Wing was first constructed in 1902 and the structure was reimagined during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Rosalynn Carter became the first first lady to use the East Wing as her office in 1977.

“Since Monday, I have heard from alumni of the East Wing from multiple administrations who are understandably stunned by the images. First ladies’ staff lived and witnessed history within those walls and nothing can take away the memories of working in that extraordinarily special place of purpose and service,” said Anita McBride, who worked in the East Wing as chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush.

And the lack of engagement on the issue from the current first lady has surprised observers.

“It would be like — you’re really close to your next door neighbor, but they decided to demolish your garage for a basketball court, and you didn’t really say anything about it,” said Kate Bennett, a former CNN journalist who chronicled the Trump family and wrote the book “Free, Melania.”

Spokespeople for America’s living former first ladies — Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden — did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment on their reaction to the demolition.

But Clinton weighed in on social media Tuesday, linking to reports of the demolition: “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”

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