Trump’s White House ballroom project wins approval from federal architecture commission

President Trump’s proposal to construct a ballroom at the White House was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday.

Six members of the commission that advises the federal government on architecture and the arts, made up of Mr. Trump’s appointees, give final approval.

The meeting was intended to discuss the project’s design, with a final vote expected later, but Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr. made a motion to also vote on final approval. One member, the original architect of the ballroom, recused himself.

Architect Shalom Baranes presented renderings of the proposed exterior to the commission, and landscape architect Rick Parisi showed mock-ups of the ballroom grounds’ foliage.

“Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure,” Mr. Cook said before the voting. “The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.”

The president’s decision to demolish the East Wing in October drew criticism from preservation advocates and calls for an independent review and congressional approval.

“In two decades of casework here, I’ve never seen as much public engagement on this. We’ve literally gotten, in the past week or so, more than 2,000 various messages,” the commission’s secretary, Thomas Luebke, said. “The vast, vast majority is negative, in general.”

He said that “over 99%” of public comments were “overwhelmingly in opposition,” which included complaints of permits, oversight and transparency in funding and contracting.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit in federal court in an attempt to halt construction, which is pending.

The privately funded, multimillion-dollar project aims for a ballroom larger than the White House itself by its expected finish in the summer of 2028.

Several commissioners questioned the lead architect about the “immense” size of the ballroom in a January meeting.

The White House is also awaiting approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which could vote as soon as March 5.