Images of excavators tearing down the East Wing of the White House this week as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to build a 90,000 square-foot ballroom has raised alarm bells among critics because it contradicts the administration’s assurances the addition would be built on top of, and not in place of, the existing structure. 

“Mr. Trump originally said back in July that the construction of his ballroom, at a cost of more than $200 million, ‘won’t interfere with the current building,’” The New York Times reported on Monday. 

“It’ll be near it but not touching it,” CNBC reported Trump saying when he took questions on the project in July.  

The privately funded project isn’t using any congressionally appropriated funds, the White House has said. The project represents the first major change to the White House since 1942, when the East Wing was renovated, according to a statement from the Society of Architectural Historians. 

The White House press office in a statement called concern over the demolition "manufactured outrage” and said the ballroom is a “bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions” by prior presidents.  

The White House says the National Capital Planning Commission, which has an oversight role over major renovations to historic buildings in Washington, will have a chance to review plans once demolition is complete. 

"Construction plans have not yet been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission but will be soon," a White House official said in a Reuters report. The NCPC doesn’t have jurisdiction over demolition work, the official said. 

The White House, like the Capitol and the Supreme Court building, are exempted from provisions in the National Historic Preservation Act requiring agencies to submit plans to the Department of the Interior when they call for altering historic buildings, although it’s been a custom for administrations to submit their White House renovation plans to NCPC and another board, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, before moving forward on them. 

“While not legally binding, [these reviews] form the preservation framework that has guided White House alterations for decades and remains relevant even for privately funded work,” an Engineering News-Record report says. 

In a letter Tuesday, the National Trust for Historic Preservation asked the White House to pause demolition until NCPC, the Commission of Fine Arts and the public have a chance to weigh in. 

“The federally recognized Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation offer clear guidance for construction projects affecting historic properties,” Carol Quillen, NTHP president and CEO, said in the letter. “The Standards provide that new additions should not destroy the historic fabric of the property.”

ACECO, the Maryland-based contractor demolishing the building, has faced criticism online and its website has been down, the Baltimore Banner reported. “The company’s website now says it’s “under construction,” the report said. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.  

“Destroying ‘The People’s House’ with no regard for their permission,” one commenter said on a Google Maps page, Newsweek reported. “Deplorable act no matter the reason.”

 The company received a number of messages like that on Tuesday, Newsweek said. “Dozens of people … have similar feelings,” it said.

The addition is expected to be completed before the end of President Trump’s term, CBS reported.