White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that a White House ballroom was President Donald Trump's "main priority" despite an ongoing government shutdown.
During Thursday's White House briefing, CBS correspondent Weijia Jiang asked Leavitt if the administration's position was that "the president tears down anything he wants without oversight." The question came hours after crews completed the unexpected demolition of the White House's East Wing.
"Could he demolish this building or say the Jefferson Memorial?" Jiang wondered.
"That's a legal opinion that's been held by the NCPC (National Capital Planning Commission) for many years," Leavitt replied. "Their general counsel has said when it comes to phase one of this project, the tearing down of the current East Wing structure, a submission is not required legally for that."
"So it sounds like the answer is yes," the correspondent noted. "He can tear down whatever he wants."
"That's not what we're saying," Leavitt remarked. "That's a legal opinion that's been held for many years. And he's interpreting it."
Leavitt was also asked if Trump had additional plans to change the White House after demolishing the East Wing and paving over the Rose Garden.
"Not to my knowledge, no, but he's a builder at heart, clearly," Leavitt observed. "And so his heart and his mind is always churning about how to improve things here on the White House grounds."
"But at this moment in time, of course, the ballroom is really the president's main priority."