‘I Think We’re Done Here’: White House Ballroom Project Weathers Deluge Of Public Criticism Ahead Of Final Vote

Blistering public criticism of President Donald Trump’s vision for a new White House ballroom did not spare the design, the commissioners, or Trump himself as the National Capital Planning Commission formally reviewed the ambitious project Thursday and teed up a final vote to kick off construction.

Following his initial informational presentation before the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) in January, East Wing Modernization project architect Shalom Baranes returned with members of his team and a revised design after considering commissioners’ comments about its proposed size and scale. Whereas the new two-story East Wing is set to occupy roughly 89,000 square feet of the White House campus, the ballroom itself is approximately 22,000 square feet and designed to accommodate 1,000 seated guests. The $400 million project is being constructed by international construction heavyweights AECOM and Clark Construction and aims to be completed before the end of Trump’s second presidential term.

Shalom Baranes Associates Rendering, White House Ballroom Public View From Pennsylvania Avenue [Screenshot/Public/NCPC.gov]

Shalom Baranes Associates Rendering, White House Ballroom View Looking Northwest [Screenshot/Public/NCPC.gov]

Meeting virtually, the commissioners provided feedback and asked questions related to the expected public experience, especially involving lighting availability and handicap accessibility. Baranes confirmed to longtime Commissioner Arrington Dixon that the ballroom roof will not feature solar panels or infrastructure to support the landing of the Marine One presidential helicopter.

Shalom Baranes Associates Rendering, White House Ballroom Enlarged East And West Elevations [Screenshot/Public/NCPC.gov]

Shalom Baranes Associates Rendering, White House Ballroom Enlarged North And South Elevations [Screenshot/Public/NCPC.gov]

Commissioner Phil Mendelson, the Democratic chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, who previously raised concerns about the new ballroom’s height, inquired about a perceived disruption of the balance between the White House East and West Wings.

In response, Baranes reflected on the history of the White House campus development plan, which seemingly abandoned maintaining symmetry and balance with the growth of the flanking War Department (now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building) and the Treasury Building.

“In a sense, I think we have history repeating itself here,” Baranes answered. “You know, just as the increasing intensity of government functions required both the Treasury — the main Treasury — and State, War, and Navy Building to grow considerably and alter their intended symmetry and relationship to the Executive Mansion, you know, today there appears to be a functional need — that did not exist back then — that cannot be met by the existing facilities on the White House reservation, and thus requires revisiting the whole question of context and scale and balance. This is not a new question, it’s been addressed, as I said, several times in the past.”

“It’s interesting to me that imbalance is a really fundamental part of the history of the site,” he noted.

“I think it’s great. It’s a tribute to not only what’s going on with this administration, but I think the White House should grow with the nation,” Commissioner Paul Ingrassia, the acting general counsel of the General Services Administration — the agency overseeing federal real estate — later suggested. “It should develop with the times, and I think this is a tribute to kind of where the United States currently is positioned in terms of global leadership.”

Ahead of the NCPC meeting, approximately 35,000 public comments spanning over 10,000 pages were submitted, the overwhelming majority of which being negative.

“DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO ISSUE A STOP WORK ORDER!?!? PLEASE. PLEASE. STOP THE RAPING OF 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE,” a comment left by “divide-chested4f” reads.

“What the flying f—k are you all doing? Trump is demolishing the White House!!!!!!!” an individual identifying as Pam Brewer implored. “Why are you not stopping him????? Who do you work for, the people or tRump???? I am so angry.”

“Slip your collars and run away,” another commenter, Linda Kranen, urged. “There’s a malignant delusional arsonist holding the leash.”

Notably, Republican Ohio Rep. Michael Turner, the co-chairman of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, wrote an Oct. 24, 2025, letter about “substantial concerns regarding the action or inaction by the National Capital Planning Commission and/or the White House during the undertaking of the demolition of the East Wing of the White House.”

“The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were deeply disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation’s history,” Turner said.

Democratic California Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the House Oversight committee, also wrote Dec. 17 to Trump-appointed NCPC Chairman William Scharf, suggesting an investigation into the project could happen “at any time.”

Furthermore, more than 100 individuals, including professional architects and lay onlookers alike, signed up to address the Commission during the multi-hour public comment period of the meeting. Carol Quillen, the president of the non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation — which is already engaged in a lawsuit to stop the project — offered the first live testimony critical of the planned modernization effort.

The proposed ballroom is a primary topic on the National Capital Planning Commission’s (NCPC) meeting agenda tomorrow 3/5.

Read the public testimony that National Trust President & CEO Carol Quillen has submitted & will deliver during the NCPC meeting: https://t.co/MQQP6pRBMo pic.twitter.com/N0Z45ct9Gu

— Saving Places (@SavingPlaces) March 4, 2026

“You don’t have to choose between respecting our history for the American people and accommodating modern government’s needs. In the case of the East Wing Modernization project, you can do both,” she said. “Doing both, however, requires that you take your time, that you move deliberately, that you engage seriously with ideas offered by the tens of thousands of architects, planners, and patriotic citizens who have taken the time to write to you. These people are worth hearing out. The American people have good ideas.”

“I understand that your role today appears to be perfunctory and that no actual impediments can be erected to a personal sovereign by a mere planning commission,” member of the public Jim Steiz stated, “however, you must formally reject this ballroom, if only to put down a marker for the repair of America’s capital and the civic self-understanding it evokes, including the prompt demolition of this ballroom once this dark era passes into historical shame.”

“Why have someone spend their time and all of you spend time and funds to offer the public the opportunity to comment as I am doing now, if the decision to move forward with the ballroom has already been reached?” Terry Burstein asked. “You are individually responsible for the widening of the road of the destruction of the power of U.S. citizens to create change. Hiding under the guise of the title of the National Capital Planning Commission will not remove your individual actions. You are complicit in the destruction of a National Historic Landmark owned by the American people.”

“The fix is in for this project and this vote,” Public Citizen’s Jon Golinger, an attorney and activist, began before challenging the credentials of Trump’s three appointees to the 12-person Commission and calling on them to recuse and resign. Public Citizen organized protests outside NCPC’s Washington office just before the body considered the ballroom project during its January and March meetings.

“Those appointments were not just a crude political power play, they were unlawful and they destroy the credibility of the vote on this project if those individuals [Trump-appointed Commissioners Scharf, James Blair, and Stuart Levenbach] vote for it,” Golinger argued.

The National Capitol Planning Commission met to discuss Trump’s tacky ballroom project.

This project is riddled with conflicts of interest, pay-to-play government contracts & dropped enforcement actions against donors.

Protesters gathered against this outrageous project. pic.twitter.com/RCSHA3OyQu

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) March 5, 2026

“First of all, sir, you’re just completely wrong. I was appointed because I did have the qualifications necessary to serve on the Commission, and that’s, in fact, why the president chose me,” Scharf, the White House staff secretary, immediately responded, before listing real estate experience as a private attorney and working with the Missouri governor to rewrite the state’s historic preservation tax credit programs, reportedly the largest in the nation. “So to say I lacked the credentials to serve on this Commission is, frankly, insulting. Your testimony, as many others have, has far exceeded the scope of jurisdiction of this Commission in terms of the concerns that you’ve raised. I wish you a very good day, and I thank you for appearing here today.”

“I looked at your campaign literature when you ran for [Missouri] attorney general. You described that job very differently,” Golinger began to respond. “Now, you want to characterize that as planning experience— ”

NCPC Chairman William Scharf confronts Public Citizen’s Jon Golinger over challenges to the Trump appointee’s credentials during the March 5, 2026 NCPC meeting held virtually. [Screenshot/Public/NCPC.gov]

“Mr. Golinger, your time is expired. I’m just going to say that you would look at campaign literature and say that is an extensive description or a comprehensive description of my experience as policy director to the governor of a major state, that’s frankly absurd. I think we’re done here.”

“Sir, if you want to sue me, I’ll see you in court, and I think that extends— you know, that’s the end of this issue,” Scharf concluded after Golinger attempted to interrupt by vowing to “challenge your record.”

“These nasty comments are clearly stemming from an organized campaign of Trump deranged liberals who clearly have no style or taste,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF). “It’s a shame that some people in this country are so debilitated with Trump Derangement Syndrome, they can’t even recognize or respect beauty when they see it. President Trump’s ballroom will be extraordinary, at no expense to taxpayers, for generations to come.”

The DCNF also reached out to Scharf for comment.

The updated design was separately approved ahead of schedule by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) during its Feb. 19, 2026, meeting. Whereas the CFA focuses on aesthetic and architectural design, the NCPC oversees broader planning and development impacts throughout the National Capital Region. The CFA commissioners, by comparison,  also noted the more than 2,000 public comments submitted to the agency were “overwhelmingly in opposition.”

A vote of approval by NCPC would seemingly satisfy the Dec. 17, 2025, memorandum order issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon for the government to initiate the consultation processes with the two agencies. Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, previously rejected injunction motions by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to halt the project over authorization and environmental impact concerns. Despite ruling the plaintiff “didn’t bring the necessary cause of action to test the statutory authority” the president cited to renovate the East Wing, Leon suggested amending the lawsuit for the Court to “expeditiously consider it and, if viable, address the merits of the novel and weighty issues presented.”

To allow commissioners to fully consider the volume and range of submitted public comments, NCPC is expected to take up the final vote on the submitted East Wing modernization design during its April 2 meeting. A Friday report by NCPC Executive Director Marcel Acosta recommended the Commission “[a]pprove preliminary and final site and building plans with comment,” apparently preserving the White House’s projected start of construction that month.

Editor’s note: This report was updated to include a statement from the White House and to correct quotations from the live testimony.