White House Ballroom Project Set for Commission Vote Next Month – Public Heavily on the Negative Side
The National Capital Planning Commission has announced that it will vote on April 2 to approve or disapprove President Trump’s controversial plans for building a ballroom in the White House.
Last summer the President said he wanted to see construction of what he said will be a 90,000- square-foot facility, calling it a “great legacy project.” Trump added that he expected to see the ballroom completed before the end of his term in January 2029.
Initially forecast at around $200 million, the cost for the project, according to various published reports, has since increased to nearly $250 million, with USA Today estimating that the price tag may ultimately come in somewhere between $300 million and $400 million.
In a public hearing on Thursday, the National Planning Commission said it had received more than 35,000 written comments regarding the proposal, with just over 100 people wanting to testify in person.
Will Scharf, chairman of the commission, said he hoped the body could accommodate all the people who have signed up to speak. “We’re going to take time to deliberate, and we’re going to have a final vote on April 2,” Scharf remarked.
The commission, meanwhile, has released some 9,000 pages of public comments thus far received on the project, with most comments expressing disapproval. According to a Washington Post analysis of those comments, more than 97% registered opposition.
Comments were equally negative concerning the demolition last October of the 83-year-old East Wing of the White House, a demolition undertaken to make way for the ballroom.
In announcing the project last summer, the White House said the new ballroom would be a “much-needed and exquisite addition” comprised of “ornately designed and carefully crafted space.”
At the time of that release, Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff, remarked that the President was committed to “building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future Administrations and generations of Americans to come.”
March 6, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Rendering courtesy of the White House
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White House Ballroom Project Set for Commission Vote Next Month – Public Heavily on the Negative Side
The National Capital Planning Commission has announced that it will vote on April 2 to approve or disapprove President Trump’s controversial plans for building a ballroom in the White House.
Last summer the President said he wanted to see construction of what he said will be a 90,000- square-foot facility, calling it a “great legacy project.” Trump added that he expected to see the ballroom completed before the end of his term in January 2029.
Initially forecast at around $200 million, the cost for the project, according to various published reports, has since increased to nearly $250 million, with USA Today estimating that the price tag may ultimately come in somewhere between $300 million and $400 million.
In a public hearing on Thursday, the National Planning Commission said it had received more than 35,000 written comments regarding the proposal, with just over 100 people wanting to testify in person.
Will Scharf, chairman of the commission, said he hoped the body could accommodate all the people who have signed up to speak. “We’re going to take time to deliberate, and we’re going to have a final vote on April 2,” Scharf remarked.
The commission, meanwhile, has released some 9,000 pages of public comments thus far received on the project, with most comments expressing disapproval. According to a Washington Post analysis of those comments, more than 97% registered opposition.
Comments were equally negative concerning the demolition last October of the 83-year-old East Wing of the White House, a demolition undertaken to make way for the ballroom.
In announcing the project last summer, the White House said the new ballroom would be a “much-needed and exquisite addition” comprised of “ornately designed and carefully crafted space.”
At the time of that release, Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff, remarked that the President was committed to “building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future Administrations and generations of Americans to come.”
March 6, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Rendering courtesy of the White House
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