This week, the Trump White House fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts — a federal agency that’s quietly shaped the way America’s capital looks and feels for more than a century. These commissioners were supposed to serve through 2028 and were the people expected to review President Trump’s new projects, including a $300 million White House ballroom and a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
Now, they’re gone.
In an email reviewed by The Washington Post, the White House made it plain, saying: “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts is terminated, effective immediately.”
A White House official later confirmed the move, saying: “We are preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump’s America First Policies.”
Translation? Trump doesn’t just want to design buildings — he wants to design the people who approve them.
The Commission of Fine Arts isn’t political by nature. It’s the body that weighs in on monuments, memorials and historic buildings, from the Lincoln Memorial to the National Mall. It’s been an independent voice since 1910, advising presidents but not serving them. Until now.
Trump’s team has already torn down the White House’s East Wing to make room for the ballroom, before any formal review could take place. One fired commissioner, Bruce Becker, said his group “would look forward to a full review of the plans for the new structure that will replace the East Wing” — well, now he’s been terminated.
If this feels familiar, it’s because it is. President Biden also fired Trump appointees from the same commission in 2021, and critics accused him of politicizing the arts. But here’s the difference: Biden wasn’t preparing to build a ballroom with his name all over it.
Trump’s firing spree also extends to another key body, the National Capital Planning Commission, where his allies now hold the majority. That board will likely decide whether the ballroom gets approved. In other words, Trump now controls the referees and the field.
This isn’t just about art or architecture. It’s about legacy — and who gets to define it. When you control how Washington looks, you shape how history remembers you. And that’s the real story here: The man who once promised to “drain the swamp” is now redesigning it — in marble, gold, and his own reflection.
Lindsey Granger is a NewsNation contributor and co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising.” This column is an edited transcription of her on-air commentary.
