{"id":2734,"date":"2026-03-05T10:06:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2734"},"modified":"2026-03-05T10:06:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:06:43","slug":"white-house-ballroom-vote-delayed-amid-deluge-of-angry-public-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=2734","title":{"rendered":"White House ballroom vote delayed amid deluge of angry public comments"},"content":{"rendered":"
A vote on President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s plans for a\u00a0$400 million White House ballroom\u00a0is being re-scheduled, as a commission in charge of deciding the project has been deluged with over 35,000 written comments and 104 people wanting to testify at a March 5 public hearing.<\/p>\n
The National Capital Planning Commission, the overseer of federal property development and site designs, says that it will still hold an online public hearing today to hear from droves of people – mostly negative – that signed up to speak or reached out via email to share their ballroom views.<\/p>\n
“Given the large amount of public input on the project, both from witnesses and written comments, the Commission is not expected to deliberate and vote on the project (March 5,) but instead to hold the deliberation and vote at a later date,” NCPC spokesperson Stephen Staudigl told USA TODAY.<\/p>\n
Staudigl said the vast majority of responses received via email have expressed negative opinions about the ballroom, and a USA TODAY cursory review found many angry responses, calling the ballroom idea gaudy, expensive, aggrandizing, and unnecessary.<\/p>\n
The commission’s public meeting promises to offer a window into the public\u2019s view of the project, which led to the demolition of the East Wing. The 12-member NCPC board is chaired by Trump appointee Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, and includes two other White House officials.<\/p>\n
People from across the nation sent written comments by email to the NCPC after the commission solicited comments. An online portal, which opened on Feb. 12, also allowed people to register to speak.<\/p>\n
Since Trump’s ballroom project was first announced by the White House in July, it has undergone\u00a0numerous changes on\u00a0financing, seating capacity and cost.\u00a0The price tag jumped from $200 million to $400 million, and the ballroom is now expected to\u00a0accommodate 1,000 people.<\/p>\n
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See new renderings of massive 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom<\/h2>\n
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Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot\u00a0White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associates\u2014later removed from the National Capital Planning Commission\u2019s website\u2014show a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Many citizens object to the ballroom<\/h2>\n
\u201cHow could he just \u2018do that\u2019 without consent from you or Congress? PLEASE don’t let him get away with him building this addition, gold plated monstrosity as it will be a replica of his “gold plated lifestyle” which is disgusting,\u201d wrote Penny Jarret.<\/p>\n
The project was \u201cinitiated without the proper authorization, permits, or design review. It is not a modernization project but rather a complete razing of American history. I want this project canceled, and the East Wing rebuilt and restored to its former design,\u201d wrote Patricia Abrego.<\/p>\n
“The East Wing ballroom is unnecessary beyond the pale,” wrote Tim Cobb. “This President\u2019s insecurity and insatiable narcissism is nakedly apparent in this project, to say nothing of his absurd Arch de Trump. I could not disagree more with this boondoggle.”<\/p>\n
Last month, the Commission of Fine Arts, a panel whose members were all appointed in January by\u00a0Trump, unanimously approved a plan for a\u00a090,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The NCPC and the CFA are the only two agencies charged with reviewing the construction of the controversial project.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>A demolition crew takes apart the facade of the East Wing of the White House, where President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom is being built, in Washington on Oct. 21, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The CFA Secretary Thomas Luebke said that 99% of the 2,000 comments they received had been negative.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the NCPC \u201creceived a substantial number of public comments on the project, the majority in opposition to the project,\u201d Staudigl told USA TODAY.<\/p>\n
Finding positive comments in the reams of paper was the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack. But they do exist.<\/p>\n
Anne Nieman, a supporter of the project, wrote that her father had been a prominent preservation architect in Alabama.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>President Donald Trump observes construction work on his new ballroom prior to a meeting with oil company executives at the White House on Jan. 9, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u201cA grand ballroom for the White House has been a vision of many past administrations. It is, frankly, an embarrassment that world leaders come to the greatest country on earth only to be welcomed in a giant wedding tent with porta-potties, no matter how fancily they may be outfitted,\u201d she wrote. \u201cTaxpayers should be grateful that private contributors who have been very successful in America are willing to donate the funds to bring this much needed addition to our capital complex. It will provide enhanced security and comfort for our leaders and guests and show them the dignity deserved in grand American style.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greg Sullivan, a landscape architect, wrote in favor of the president\u2019s project.<\/p>\n
\u201cI voted for our president and what he is bringing to the White House,\u201d wrote Sullivan. \u201cHe will do an awesome job on this much needed addition useful by all subsequent administrations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf attends a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
After the East Wing was demolished in October, without any warning and leading to huge public outcry, the White House argued that under federal law the 12-member panel of the NCPC only reviews construction projects, not demolitions of existing buildings.<\/p>\n
Most Americans oppose Trump\u2019s plans to construct a 90,000 square-foot ballroom, according to a poll conducted the week after the demolition of the East Wing.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll\u00a0found 56% of Americans oppose the demolition and ballroom project \u2012 including 45% who said they “strongly oppose” it. Meanwhile, 28% of respondents said they support the plans.<\/p>\n
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 requires reviews of projects that affect most historic buildings, but the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol are exempt.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>Shalom Baranes, whose architecture firm is leading the ballroom project, shows a presentation during a National Capital Planning Commission hearing on White House East Wing renovations in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 8, 2026. REUTERS\/Nathan Howard<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction of the project, saying the project needs Congressional approval and that the project’s size would “overwhelm the White House itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case was rejected by a federal judge saying the organization did not sufficiently prove the president was exceeding his powers. Rather, it based its challenge \u201con a ragtag group of theories” under federal law and the Constitution. Still, he said the court would consider additional efforts if the group decided to amend its complaint.<\/p>\n
The preservation group has followed up by filing an amended lawsuit alleging the administration violated federal laws by proceeding without not obtaining the required approvals.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s team countered in court that the president did not need approval from lawmakers because the project is not using taxpayer dollars and instead is being funded by private donation.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers have raised alarm about accepting funds from companies with business before the federal government.<\/p>\n
“Trump\u2019s gold-encrusted ballroom has become a vehicle for corruption,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. Donors include Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Meta, according to a list provided by the White House.<\/p>\n
Since the project was first announced by the White House in July, including\u00a0financing, seating capacity and cost.\u00a0The price tag jumped from $200 million to $400 million, and the ballroom is now expected to\u00a0accommodate 1,000 people.<\/p>\n
Kathleen McCleary of Norther Virginia asked in her written comments: \u201cWhy do we the people have no say in this? Why are we concerned with a giant ballroom for lavish parties when the wealth gap in this country is enormous? This project should be STOPPED.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:\u00a0White House ballroom vote delayed amid deluge of angry public comments<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A vote on President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s plans for a\u00a0$400 million White House ballroom\u00a0is being re-scheduled, as a commission in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2734"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2736,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2734\/revisions\/2736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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