Commission poised to approve Trump's ballroom, but delay decision after 97% of public comments disapprove
...they're blinking.
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President Donald Trump's massive East Wing ballroom project is poised to get its final approval from a government commission that oversees planning for federal buildings and land in the nation's capital, despite receiving over 32,000 comments from the public overwhelmingly opposing the construction. https://cnn.it/46D9tpd
A vote on President Donald Trump’s plans for a $400 million White House ballroom is 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.
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.
"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.
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.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/white-house-ballroom-vote-delayed-034022329.html
___The National Capital Planning Commission was expected to take a final vote to approve plans for the ballroom on Thursday, marking the latest clearance for the project in a process that has been on a fast track since Trump suddenly demolished the East Wing last October. But the commission announced Thursday that the vote was postponed to a later date “given the large amount of public input on the project.”
According to a CNN analysis using AI and human verification, more than 97% of the public feedback was against the construction, with the most scathing criticisms likening the proposed ballroom’s aesthetic to a “brothel” or “Vegas casino.”
Since returning to office, the president has stacked the 12-member commission with loyalists, and earlier this week, the NCPC executive director published a recommendation to “(approve) the preliminary and final site and building plans for the East Wing Modernization Project located on the grounds of the White House,” all but guaranteeing that the project will move forward. Timing for the new vote has not yet been announced.
The most serious legal challenge comes from a case brought by historical preservationists, who argue that Trump needs congressional approval to carry out the construction. And there are already questions about the validity of the upcoming NCPC vote.
The commission normally meets in-person, but Thursday’s events will be online-only, which, it says, is “due to the anticipated agenda length.” Protesters assembled outside the NCPC’s most recent meetings and are expected to gather again on Thursday.
The commission said in a press release that more information on plans for the vote would be announced during Thursday’s meeting.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/politics/trump-east-wing-ballroom-commission-vote