WASHINGTON >> With many Washington tourist spots closed due to the U.S. government shutdown, some visitors instead are checking out an unexpected and divisive new attraction in the nation’s capital: President Donald Trump’s surprise demolition of the White House’s East Wing.

Top Democrats and media figures condemned President Donald Trump's White House ballroom construction after crews bulldozed the East Wing on Monday.

The stunning images of the teardown this week have left Democratic lawmakers incensed. Republicans, meanwhile, are likening it to a long line of White House renovations over the years. There was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's swimming pool addition, now covered over, they said.