President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom addition cleared final approval Thursday from the National Capital Planning Commission, a key federal body that reviews changes on federal property in the Washington region, even as litigation continues over whether construction should be paused following a judge’s order, the Associated Press reported.
The commission acted after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued an order two days earlier that halted construction unless Congress allows what would be the biggest structural change to the White House in more than 70 years, AP said. The National Capital Planning Commission said the judge’s ruling affected construction activities but not the planning process, according to its Trump-appointed chair, Will Scharf.
The commission vote was 8-1, with two commissioners voting present and one absent, AP reported. The lone “no” vote came from Phil Mendelson, the Democrat who chairs the Council of the District of Columbia, while Linda Argo and Arrington Dixon, the two commissioners appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, voted present, AP said.
Before the vote, Scharf, a senior White House aide, told the commission that Leon’s order had been stayed for two weeks while the administration sought an appeal, AP reported. Scharf read from notes and made a defense of the project’s place within the White House’s history of modifications, including additions and changes that drew criticism when they were made but later became accepted, AP said.
Scharf also argued that the project was criticized for opposition to Trump rather than its merits, AP reported. “I believe that in time this ballroom will be considered every bit as much of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House,” Scharf said, AP reported. He also said “I feel that we’ve been unfairly slighted in the press and otherwise for the way we’ve gone about reviewing this particular project.”
The vote came after the commission postponed its initial schedule from March to Thursday because so many people signed up to comment at the commission’s meeting last month, AP reported. The comments were overwhelmingly in opposition, AP said. AP reported that Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, criticized the process; one of its attorneys, Jon Golinger, said the commission discounted opposition from city officials and thousands of people who commented and ignored the judge’s ruling.
Golinger called the approval illegitimate and the vote a joke, AP reported, while other commissioners said they took public feedback seriously. Trump, in a statement after the vote, thanked the commissioners and said he was honored, AP reported, posting the comment on social media: “When completed, it will be the Greatest and Most Beautiful Ballroom of its kind anywhere in the World, and a fabulous complement to our Beautiful and Storied White House!”
Ahead of the vote, the commission considered design changes to the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom addition, AP reported. AP said Trump removed a large staircase on the south side and added an uncovered porch on the southwest side after announcing the project aboard Air Force One on Sunday while returning to Washington from Florida, according to the report.
AP said architects and other critics had described the staircase as too large and basically useless because there was no way to enter the ballroom at the top. A White House official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss design publicly, told AP that the president considered feedback from the National Capital Planning Commission and from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which approved the project earlier this year, as well as comments from the public, and made additional “refinements” to the exterior, AP said.
AP reported that the ballroom’s estimated cost has grown to $400 million since Trump first announced it last summer, when he cited a need for space other than a tent on the lawn to host important guests. AP said Trump demolished the East Wing in October with little warning and that site preparation and underground work have been underway since then.
AP said the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued after Trump demolished the East Wing last fall to build the ballroom addition, which AP said is nearly twice as big as the mansion itself. Leon agreed to a halt but said his order would take effect in two weeks, while allowing construction related to security, AP reported. The report said Trump has said the project would be paid for with donations from wealthy people and corporations, though public dollars are paying for underground bunkers and security upgrades, according to AP.