Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the complete demolition of the White House East Wing, claiming that historic property may be a serious health risk.

“I think this was a judgement call on the president. The president is a master builder,” Bessent told NBC’s Meet the Press from Malaysia, where Donald Trump is attending a diplomatic summit.

“I completely endorse what the president’s doing here with the ballroom, and I don’t know,” he went on. “I assume that maybe parts of the East Wing could have had asbestos. It could have been mold.”

President Trump repeatedly assured the American public that he would not tear down the East Wing to build his new 90,000-square-foot, $300 million ballroom, which he plans to name after himself.

He told reporters in July the new annex “won’t inter

See Full Page