The decade-long exemption that allows Trump to remodel the White House

US President Donald Trump plans to demolish the entire “existing structure” of the East Wing of the White House to build a new ballroom – despite previous assurances that the addition “will not interfere with the current building”.

The sight of the demolition drew outrage from Democrats as well as preservation groups, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which wrote a letter urging Trump to hold a public review process.

As a former property developer, Trump has extensive experience managing planning restrictions and has occasionally clashed with activists who object to his plans.

Under a nearly 60-year-old law, the White House and several other landmark buildings are exempt from a key historic preservation rule – although one expert told the BBC that presidents usually follow it anyway.

Trump’s overhaul appears to be the biggest in decades, but the US president has the power to make these changes.

And he’s not the first to remodel the White House. Over the years, numerous presidents have made renovations, from a bowling alley to an indoor swimming pool.

Under a law known as the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies are required to study the impact of any construction projects on historic properties. Specifically, section 106 requires agencies to go through a review process, including receiving input from the public.

Then-President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law in 1966, after a period of rapid development in the US – including through federally funded infrastructure projects – as concerns grew that cultural and historic landmarks were being destroyed.

Under Section 107 of the Act, three buildings and their grounds are exempt from the Section 106 review process: the White House, the Capitol, and the United States Supreme Court Building.

In the past, however, presidents have typically voluntarily submitted their plans to the National Capital Planning Commission — which oversees the construction of federal buildings — before a construction project begins.

Trump officials have not yet done so, but say they plan to, even though renovations have already begun.

Priya Jain, chair of the Society of Architectural Historians’ heritage preservation committee, told the BBC that the process set out in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was well established and would be “best practice” for renovating the Trump East Wing.

These reviews — which can take years — include discussions about program requirements and potential alternatives.

“In that case it would have been: do we need a ballroom this big? Should it be smaller?” said Jain, a professor of architecture at Texas A&M University. “Could it be an extension of the East Wing? Could it have been submerged?”

The stake, she said, is the “history” the building contains. All of the additions to the White House over time have contributed to how the public understands the building and the country at this point, she said.

“It’s the memory,” she said. “The East Wing is 83 years old. It’s taken on its own historical significance. I haven’t seen much about how that’s been assessed.”