Federal Workers Told to Stop Taking Photos of White House Destruction

Federal workers were told to stop documenting changes to the White House after images of the East Wing’s facade being torn down amid construction on President Donald Trump’s planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom sparked outrage online.

On Monday evening, a Treasury Department official directed staff, who, as occupants of the building neighboring the East Wing, have a direct vantage point to the site, not to snap photos.

“As construction proceeds on the White House grounds, employees should refrain from taking and sharing photographs of the grounds, to include the East Wing, without prior approval from the Office of Public Affairs,” stated an email to Treasury Department personnel, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In a statement to CNN, a Treasury spokesperson explained the ban as follows: “Carelessly shared photographs of the White House complex during this process could potentially reveal sensitive items, including security features or confidential structural details. Out of an abundance of caution, we have urged our employees to avoid sharing these images.”

Earlier Monday, viral images showed a construction crew taking a backhoe to the side of the East Wing.

Throughout the day, Democrats took to social media to comment on the arresting footage of the East Wing and decry the Trump administration.

“Seeing the White House torn apart is really emblematic of the times we’re in,” wrote Senator Tina Smith on social media.

“Oh you’re trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing?” tweeted Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Donald Trump can’t hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom.”

Trump originally said the White House ballroom “won’t interfere with the current building,” but press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “necessary construction will take place” so that the East Wing, which was added in 1942, could be “modernized.” The president confirmed Monday on Truth Social that the East Wing is “being fully modernized.”