Trump’s Ballroom Design Gets Final Ok From Planning Commission

A federal commission approved President Donald Trump's plans Thursday for a $400 million White House ballroom, asserting a federal court's order to halt construction has no bearing on its review process.

A majority of the National Capital Planning Commission endorsed a slightly modified design — including removing a feature derided as the "stairs to nowhere" on the South Portico — with only D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson voting against the plans. Both of Mayor Muriel Bowser's appointees voted "present."

The commission's approval — which was expected given the group is stacked President Donald Trump's deputies — came almost a month after the panel heard hours of criticism about the design plans for the massive ballroom to replace the demolished East Wing of the White House.

Commission Chair William Scharf dismissed complaints of the expansion itself, comparing it to a series of headlines condemning past White House construction projects, while also taking aim at "negative comments" focused on the demolition process, interior design and the president himself.

"We are not some sort of free-ranging ballroom justice commission," Scharf said, who also complained that the NCPC had been "unfairly slighted in the press and otherwise for the way we've gone about reviewing this particular project."

Scharf also dismissed any suggestion that a Tuesday ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, ordering the Trump administration to pause construction absent “express authorization from Congress” should delay the commission's own review. The order in the lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation told the White House it needed congressional approval to continue but allowed work to continue for 14 days.

"From my perspective, we have a project before us. We've been asked to review it, and that's really our job here today," Scharf said, noting the NCPC was not a party to the lawsuit.

Scharf, who also serves as White House staff secretary, repeatedly defended the Trump administration's construction plans, asserting, "The White House complex has constantly evolved to meet the programmatic needs of the federal government and the office of the President."

He added that he expects the ballroom will become "every bit as much of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House."

Trump abruptly ordered the tearing down of the East Wing of the White House last fall, saying the building had to be demolished in order to make way for the ballroom. He has insisted private donations will cover the construction costs, even as the price has risen from around $200 million to $400 million.

But Mendelson, who offered the most detailed objection to the project, suggested the NCPC has not taken sufficient time to review the ballroom proposal.

"The issue to me is not whether there should be a ballroom," Mendelson said. "It's the design."

He compared the process of the ballroom's planning and construction against that of the Capitol Visitor Center, a massive project that nonetheless preserved historic views of the Capitol itself.

"There's a lot of value to the iterative process, and we've not had that," Mendelson said.