How Trump is stacking the deck so his ballroom project sails through DC and comes to fruition

President Donald Trump’s grand $400 million White House ballroom design was swiftly approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts Thursday, clearing the first hurdle to move forward with construction months after he fired board members and replaced them with allies.

A panel of six commissioners chosen by Trump approved the latest and final design despite massive public resistance, while praising the president for designing a “beautiful structure.”

Since announcing his new ambitions for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom in July 2025, Trump has sought to expedite construction of the ballroom, which is nearly the size of the White House residence and West Wing combined.

Trump wasted no time tearing down the historic East Wing, changing initial cost estimates, and stacking two boards tasked with reviewing the construction plans with allies.

Here’s how else the president is making sure his new White House addition comes to fruition:

Lawmakers and members of the public were shocked in October when construction teams began demolishing the historic East Wing of the White House – after Trump asserted the new ballroom would not “interfere” with the original building.

White House officials justified the change by saying architects had determined it was more cost-effective and structurally sound to demolish the East Wing.

But Democrats were quick to accuse the president of circumventing traditional processes of seeking permission from the National Capital Planning Commission, Commission of Fine Arts and congressional approval.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the administration, hoping to halt construction. While the East Wing demolition has been completed and is therefore unable to be halted, the judge has not ruled on the new construction.

In October, the Trump administration fired all six members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts to make room for new commissioners “more aligned with President Trump’s America First Policies” after public criticisms over the demolition of the East Wing.

Typically, the seven-member panel tasked with giving expert advice to the president, Congress and D.C. government on design and aesthetic matters is made up of individuals with expertise in art, architecture, landscape architecture and urban design.

But Trump has tapped a group of individuals with a range of backgrounds, including some with no experience in the arts, to sit on the commission.

That includes 26-year-old Chamberlain Harris, the deputy director of Oval Office operations with no formal experience in art.

“This is sort of like the greatest country in the world. It’s the greatest house in the world. And we sort of want it to be the greatest ballroom in the world,” Harris said Thursday during the meeting.

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