WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump\u2019s White House ballroom won final approval from a key agency on Thursday, despite a federal judge recently ordering a halt to construction unless Congress allows what would be the biggest structural change to the American landmark in more than 70 years.<\/p>\n
The 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, the agency tasked with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region, went ahead with the vote because US District Judge Richard Leon\u2019s ruling \u2014 which came two days earlier \u2014 affects construction activities but not the planning process, said the commission\u2019s Trump-appointed chair, Will Scharf.<\/p>\n
A vote of 8-1, with two commissioners voting present and one absent, allowed the plan to move forward.<\/p>\n
Despite the agency\u2019s approval, however, the judge\u2019s ruling and a legal fight over the ballroom could stall progress on a legacy project that Trump is racing to see completed before the end of his term in early 2029. It\u2019s among a series of changes the Republican president is planning for the nation\u2019s capital to leave his lasting imprint while he\u2019s still in office.<\/p>\n
Before the vote, Scharf, a top White House aide, noted that Leon\u2019s order has been stayed for two weeks as the administration seeks an appeal. He said, as he understood the decision, it \u201creally does not impact our action here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reading from notes, Scharf also delivered an impassioned defense of the project that reviewed the full history of the White House \u2014 including changes and additions that were criticized at the time they were made but have become beloved with the passage of time. He spoke about the addition of the north and south porticos and the balcony added by President Harry Truman.<\/p>\n
Scharf suggested that Trump\u2019s proposed ballroom will similarly come to be viewed as a wise addition \u2014 despite drawing contemporary opposition from some members of the public and government officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that, in time, this ballroom will be considered every bit of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House,\u201d Scharf said.<\/p>\n
Scharf also said the proposed ballroom has been viewed negatively because of opposition to Trump, instead of the merits, saying, \u201cI feel that we\u2019ve been unfairly slighted in the press and otherwise for the way we\u2019ve gone about reviewing this particular project.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vote by the commission, which includes three members Trump gets to appoint, had initially been scheduled for March but was postponed to Thursday because so many people signed up to comment at the commission\u2019s meeting last month. The comments were overwhelmingly opposed to the ballroom.<\/p>\n
The lone \u201cno\u201d vote was cast by Phil Mendelson, a Democrat who chairs the Council of the District of Columbia. Linda Argo and Arrington Dixon, the two commissioners appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, voted present.<\/p>\n
Mendelson criticized the design of the ballroom addition and how fast it was approved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just too large,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Criticism also came from Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. One of its attorneys, Jon Golinger, said the commission had discounted opposition from city officials and thousands of people who commented against the project, and ignored the judge\u2019s ruling. Several commissioners, including Scharf, had said they took the public feedback seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis approval is illegitimate and this vote is a joke,\u201d Golinger said.<\/p>\n
Trump, in a statement Thursday following the vote, thanked the commissioners for the approval and said he was honored.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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!\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n
Trump tweaks the ballroom design<\/p>\n
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, commended the \u201cdecision to approve President Trump\u2019s historic vision to build a much need ballroom at the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to seeing the completion of this project on time and under budget,\u201d Ingle said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Before voting, the commission considered some design changes to the 90,000-square-foot ballroom addition that the president announced aboard Air Force One on Sunday, as he flew back to Washington from a weekend at his Florida home.<\/p>\n
He removed a large staircase on the south side of the building and added an uncovered porch to the west side. Architects and other critics of the project had panned the staircase as too large and basically useless since there was no way to enter the ballroom at the top.<\/p>\n
A White House official said the president had considered comments from the National Capital Planning Commission and another oversight entity, the US Commission of Fine Arts, which approved the project earlier this year, as well as members of the public.<\/p>\n
The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the ballroom design and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that additional \u201crefinements\u201d had been made to the building\u2019s exterior.<\/p>\n
The ballroom, now estimated to cost $400 million, has expanded in scope and price tag since Trump first announced the project last summer, citing a need for space other than a tent on the lawn to host important guests. Trump demolished the East Wing in October with little warning, and site preparation and underground work have been underway since then.<\/p>\n
Two other Trump-appointed commissioners, Stuart Levenbach and James Blair, voted for the project.<\/p>\n
Levenbach, who serves as vice chairman and is the federal government\u2019s chief statistician, said the White House is currently \u201cnot suited\u201d to accommodate large numbers of guests and that the addition will improve the \u201cutility\u201d of the compound.<\/p>\n
He said tunnels and other structures underground at the White House made it impossible to place many features of the ballroom there, too, as some have suggested might be possible. Levenbach said the addition is a \u201cmultipurpose facility,\u201d noting that, in addition to a ballroom, it will also have offices for the first lady, kitchen space and a theater.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not an expansion for its own sake,\u201d Levenbach said.<\/p>\n
Blair, a deputy to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, said visitors and guests of the president deserve a \u201cbetter experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scharf and Blair also said Trump will get \u201cvery limited use\u201d of the ballroom before his term ends.<\/p>\n
Judge says Trump isn\u2019t the owner of the White House<\/p>\n
Trump went ahead with the project before seeking input from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, which he reconstituted with allies and supporters.<\/p>\n
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit organization, sued after Trump demolished the East Wing last fall to build the ballroom addition \u2014 a space nearly twice as big as the mansion itself.<\/p>\n
Trump says it will be paid for with donations from wealthy people and corporations, including him, though public dollars are paying for underground bunkers and security upgrades.<\/p>\n
The trust sought a temporary halt to construction until Trump presented the project to both commissions and Congress for approval. Leon agreed but said that his order would take effect in two weeks and that construction related to security would be allowed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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