The East Wing of the White House has now been completely destroyed to pave way for Donald Trump’s $300m planned gilded ballroom, just days after the administration announced it would happen and contradicting Trump’s earlier promise that the existing building would not be touched.

Satellite images on Friday showed the historic building’s eastern section reduced to rubble, to the outrage of historians, former White House officials and much of the public.

The demolition marked a reversal of Trump’s earlier promise in July that none of the White House’s existing infrastructure would be torn down during construction of the ballroom.

Trump went ahead despite not first sending plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal agency that oversees construction and renovations to government buildings across the region.

On Thursday, a White House official told Reuters that construction plans “will be soon” submitted. A White House official also told the Guardian that “The National [Capital] Planning Commission does not require permits for demolition, only for vertical construction. Permits will be submitted to the NPC at the appropriate time.”

Earlier this week, however, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit established by Congress, sent a letter to the White House stating that the demolition plans are “legally required” to undergo public review.

Meanwhile, a Virginia couple filed a motion in Washington federal court on Thursday, requesting a temporary restraining order on the project. In their motion, Charles and Judith Voorhees said that the construction was taking place “without legally required approvals or reviews”.

“Defendants are unilaterally decoupling the demolition of the East Wing of the White House from the construction approval process to expedite the project, effectively bypassing the historic preservation and planning reviews required under federal law for a project of this magnitude on a protected national landmark,” the motion added.

Donors of the proposed ballroom include a slew of major tech companies. Among those are Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google. Defense contractors and communications companies have also pitched in, including Lockheed Martin, Palantir, T-Mobile and Comcast.

Touting the proposal of the 90,000 sq ft ballroom, Trump said the construction “is being paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine”.