Demolition for new White House ballroom doesn't need approval, Trump-appointed commission head says [View all]

Source: Associated Press, via KDVR

Demolition for new White House ballroom doesn’t need approval, Trump-appointed commission head says

WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press
27 minutes ago


The Rose Garden of The White House is seen from the Colonnade Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Demolition to build President Donald Trump’s new ballroom off the East Wing of the White House can begin without approval of the commission tasked with vetting construction of federal buildings, the Trump-appointed head of the panel said Thursday.

Will Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary, said during a public meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission that the board does not have jurisdiction over demolition or site preparation work for buildings on federal property. … “What we deal with is essentially construction, vertical build,” Scharf said. He called Trump’s promised ballroom “one of the most exciting construction projects in the modern history of the district.”

Thursday’s public meeting of the commission was the only one scheduled before crews are expected to break ground on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom likely to greatly alter the look and size of both the White House’s East and West Wings. The planning commission is responsible for approving construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area.

But Scharf made a distinction between demolition work and rebuilding, saying the commission was only required to vet the latter. … “I think any assertion that this commission should have been consulted earlier than it has been, or it will be, is simply false,” he said, later adding, “I’m excited for us to play a role in the ballroom project when the time is appropriate for us to do so.”

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