US President Donald Trump's White House ballroom won final approval from a key agency on Friday, despite a federal judge recently ordering a halt to construction unless Congress allows what would be the biggest structural change to the American landmark in more than 70 years.
The 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, the agency tasked with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region, went ahead with the vote because US District Judge Richard Leon's ruling — which came two days earlier — affects construction activities but not the planning process, said the commission's Trump-appointed chair, Will Scharf.
A vote of 8-1, with two commissioners voting present and one absent, allowed the plan to move forward.
Despite the agency's approval, however, the judge's ruling and a legal fight over the ballroom could stall progress on a legacy project that Trump is racing to see completed before the end of his term in early 2029. It's among a series of changes the Republican president is planning for the nation’s capital to leave his lasting imprint while he's still in office.
Before the vote, Scharf, a top White House aide, noted that Leon's order has been stayed for two weeks as the administration seeks an appeal. He said, as he understood the decision, it "really does not impact our action here today".
Reading from notes, Scharf also delivered an impassioned defence of the project that reviewed the full history of the White House — including changes and additions that were criticised at the time they were made but have become beloved with the passage of time. He spoke about the addition of the north and south porticos and the balcony added by President Harry Truman.
Scharf suggested that Trump's proposed ballroom will similarly come to be viewed as a wise addition — despite drawing contemporary opposition from some members of the public and government officials.
"I believe that, in time, this ballroom will be considered every bit of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House," Scharf said.
Scharf also said the proposed ballroom has been viewed negatively because of opposition to Trump, instead of the merits, saying, "I feel that we’ve been unfairly slighted in the press and otherwise for the way we've gone about reviewing this particular project".
The vote by the commission, which includes three members Trump gets to appoint, had initially been scheduled for March but was postponed to Friday because so many people signed up to comment at the commission's meeting last month. The comments were overwhelmingly opposed to the ballroom.
The lone "no" vote was cast by Phil Mendelson, a Democrat who chairs the Council of the District of Columbia. Linda Argo and Arrington Dixon, the two commissioners appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, voted present.
Mendelson criticised the design of the ballroom addition and how fast it was approved.
"It's just too large," he said.
Criticism also came from Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organisation. One of its attorneys, Jon Golinger, said the commission had discounted opposition from city officials and thousands of people who commented against the project, and ignored the judge's ruling. Several commissioners, including Scharf, had said they took the public feedback seriously.
"This approval is illegitimate and this vote is a joke," Golinger said.
Trump tweaks the ballroom design
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, commended the "decision to approve President Trump"s historic vision to build a much needed ballroom at the White House".
"We look forward to seeing the completion of this project on time and under budget," Ingle said in a statement.
Before voting, the commission considered some design changes to the 8400-square-metre ballroom addition that the president announced aboard Air Force One on Monday, as he flew back to Washington from a weekend at his Florida home.
He removed a large staircase on the south side of the building and added an uncovered porch to the west side. Architects and other critics of the project had panned the staircase as too large and basically useless since there was no way to enter the ballroom at the top.
A White House official said the president had considered comments from the National Capital Planning Commission and another oversight entity, the US Commission of Fine Arts, which approved the project earlier this year, as well as members of the public.
The official, who was not authorised to publicly discuss the ballroom design and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that additional "refinements" had been made to the building's exterior.
The ballroom, now estimated to cost US$400 million (NZ$699 million), has expanded in scope and price tag since Trump first announced the project last summer, citing a need for space other than a tent on the lawn to host important guests. Trump demolished the East Wing in October with little warning, and site preparation and underground work have been underway since then.
Two other Trump-appointed commissioners, Stuart Levenbach and James Blair, voted for the project.
Levenbach, who serves as vice chairman and is the federal government's chief statistician, said the White House is currently "not suited" to accommodate large numbers of guests and that the addition will improve the "utility" of the compound.
He said tunnels and other structures underground at the White House made it impossible to place many features of the ballroom there, too, as some have suggested might be possible. Levenbach said the addition is a "multipurpose facility," noting that, in addition to a ballroom, it will also have offices for the first lady, kitchen space and a theatre.
"This is not an expansion for its own sake," Levenbach said.
Blair, a deputy to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, said visitors and guests of the president deserve a "better experience".
Scharf and Blair also said Trump will get "very limited use" of the ballroom before his term ends.
Judge says Trump isn't the owner of the White House
Trump went ahead with the project before seeking input from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, which he reconstituted with allies and supporters.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit organisation, sued after Trump demolished the East Wing last fall to build the ballroom addition — a space nearly twice as big as the mansion itself.
Trump says it will be paid for with donations from wealthy people and corporations, including him, though public dollars are paying for underground bunkers and security upgrades.
The trust sought a temporary halt to construction until Trump presented the project to both commissions and Congress for approval. Leon agreed but said that his order would take effect in two weeks and that construction related to security would be allowed.
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