Senator Chris Murphy Says Trump’s East Wing Demolition “Absolutely Illegal”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to demolish part of the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom, calling the move “absolutely illegal” and emblematic of what he described as the administration’s ongoing disregard for the rule of law.
Speaking Tuesday on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, Murphy drew a direct line between the destruction of the East Wing and Trump’s broader pattern of unilateral decision-making, including the controversial military strikes in the Caribbean that have drawn international scrutiny.
“There’s a lot of history that has taken place in the East Wing,” Murphy said. “It was just destroyed without any conversation with the American public, without any consent of Congress. It was absolutely illegal.”
Murphy described the demolition as both a physical and symbolic act, warning that it illustrated the extent to which Trump views himself above the law. “That visual is powerful because you are essentially watching the destruction of the rule of law happen as those walls come down,” he said. “It’s just a symbol of how cavalier he is about every single day acting in new and illegal ways.”
The senator linked the East Wing demolition to what he characterized as a growing list of extrajudicial actions by the president — including recent strikes that have killed suspected drug traffickers at sea — saying both reflect an alarming erosion of democratic norms.
“The president just doesn’t believe that any law applies to him,” Murphy continued. “He thinks he can destroy federal property, steal from American citizens, kill with impunity, throw anyone in jail.”
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