President Donald Trump obliterated the White House East Wing on his own say-so. Replacing its rubble with a palatial ballroom will entail scrutiny by others.
The National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts are endowed by both law and custom with oversight of the White House and its grounds. Typically, each has a distinct role to play; although, as Trump pursues his dream of a 90,000-square ballroom, the word “typically” may not apply.
So far, it hasn’t. The White House demolished the East Wing two weeks ago, during a federal government shutdown, after Trump had said over the summer that his ballroom plans wouldn’t touch the existing structure. The president has said he expects it will cost as much as $300 million but insisted it will be covered by private donors. No actual plans have been made public, although Trump has displayed renderings and models.
“It’s so unusual,” said Teri Goodmann, a former chair of the National Capital Planning Commission. “The size of the project is unusual. The location of the project is unusual. The demolition of an historic property without any public input is unusual.”
