“This building is full of asbestos”: Veteran contractor stunned at Trump’s “next level” demo of the White House East Wing for his ballroom

A longtime contractor raised alarms on TikTok this week about the demolition of the White House's East Wing to add a gilded ballroom in the style of Mar-a-Lago.

Sarah Boardman (@sarah.boardman.design), who stated that she has been a licensed contractor and designer for nearly three decades, posted a video questioning whether the demolition adhered to basic safety and permitting rules.

In the clip, Boardman explained that she had researched President Donald Trump's project and found "no permits" for the work. She added that if she conducted a demolition like the one seen at the East Wing, "I would be fined out of existence."

According to her, the situation appeared unregulated and potentially hazardous, especially given the age of the building.

"I’d be fined out of existence": 30-year contractor calls out lack of safety precautions during White House East Wing demo

Boardman introduced herself in her TikTok by saying, "Hey y’all. So a lot of you know I’m an interior designer, have been for 30 years, have owned my own company. I’m also a general contractor and a builder." She mentioned she had been one of just eight women in Chicago with a Class B license in the late 1990s, allowing her to construct nearly any type of building "but a skyscraper."

She pointed to the East Wing’s long history of renovations, noting, "This building was started in 1798. Major renovations, 1814, 1840, and then tons of renovations in the 50s, 60s, and 70s."

Because of that history, she said, "This building is full of asbestos. This building is full of mold. It has been known to leak."

In an email to the Daily Dot, Boardman wrote, "This part of the East Wing was built in 1942," adding that during this time, "asbestos was widely used as insulation on pipes, in walls, and ceilings, and multiple different kinds."

"The way that this was done is very destructive, and the rest of the building should have had supportive structure already in place," she added.

"Soil testing would have been done. Air testing would have been done. Multiple sites of the building would have been tested for asbestos for lead, for lots of diseases that mice and rats carry Legionnaires. The list is endless."

She also mentioned that "this is the worst time to start a project," noting that "Washington, DC gets a lot of rain in the fall and winter."

"It gets 14 to 16 in of snow in January and February," she wrote. "This is one of those projects that you spend years figuring out when the best time to start this because the timeline for something like this is years."

According to Boardman, proper safety measures weren’t visible in footage of the demolition. "There is one guy spraying a tiny hose," she said, adding that she would have been required to "shroud the entire building."

"If they had been doing this properly for the remediation, which could have taken up to a year, the entire building would have been shrouded," she wrote in her email.

"There would have been no one working in the building surrounding areas might have been alerted and relocated."

"I worry about the construction workers," Boardman wrote. "None of them appear to be wearing any kind of protection. I worry about the people that are working in the White House. The timeline for this is bonkers, and I'm not understanding why they think this would go unnoticed."

She named McCrary Architects and Clark Construction as the companies reportedly involved, urging viewers to "make the calls" but to "be nice to the receptionists. They are not responsible for this."

Before ending her video, she said she planned to share contact information for the firms and encouraged viewers to reach out to D.C.’s Department of Buildings about what she described as "illegal construction."

@sarah.boardman.design #greenscreen #whitehouse #construction #demolition McCrery Architects https://www.mccreryarchitects.com/ illegal construction form https://inspections.dob.dc.gov/forms/illegal_construction_inspection/step_1 Clark construction https://www.clarkconstruction.com/ #interiordesign ♬ original sound - Sarah.Boardman.design

Boardman isn't the only one speaking out about the demolition. On Threads, @mutedfiligree posted, "Tearing down the white house with zero asbestos/lead management. Cause what could go wrong."

Commenters echoed that concern, with one TikToker writing, "they don’t have permits because demoing the white house, a historic landmark and museum, requires a literal act of Congress." Another asked, "Has anyone looked into Clark Construction to see about possible ties with the trump family? It’s hard to imagine that they bid and won the contract."

Others questioned the project’s funding, such as one person who commented, "And the money is coming from private donors but they aren’t releasing who is paying for it?" A final commenter added a reminder about the risks involved. "East Wing was built in 1942. So asbestos, lead paint, all the fun stuff."

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The post “This building is full of asbestos”: Veteran contractor stunned at Trump’s “next level” demo of the White House East Wing for his ballroom appeared first on The Daily Dot.