Photos of the White House's East Wing, then and now

WASHINGTON (AP) — These photos show archival images of the White House East Wing, which housed several offices, including those of the first lady. It was built in 1942.

On Monday, the White House started tearing it down to build President Donald Trump’s $250 million ballroom.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Work continues on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris, right, swears in Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as Yellen's husband George Akerlof stands by, at the East Wing of the White House in Washington, Jan. 26, 2021, across from the Treasury building. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - A Marine White House military social aide holds the door to the East Wing entrance of the White House during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations, Nov. 29, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - Liz Carpenter, press secretary and staff director for first lady Lady Bird Johnson, poses for a photo in her office in the East Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 9, 1963. On the walls are her Theta Sigma Phi Headliner Award and two photos of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges, File)

FILE - First lady Laura Bush, left, meets with U.N. Special Adviser on Burma Ibrahim Gambari in her East Wing office of the White House in Washington, Dec. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - The entrance to the East Wing of the White House is decorated for the holiday season, Nov. 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

FILE - The East Wing hallway of the White House is decorated for the holiday season, Nov. 29, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

FILE - President Bush waves as walks away from the East Wing of the White House to the neighboring Treasury Building for the swearing-in of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, July 10, 2006 in Washington. At right is Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)