The White House doesn’t need approval from the commission that vets most federal building projects before President Trump begins his massive ballroom project, the head of the panel told members this week.
“It is in fact the case that this commission does not have jurisdiction — and it has long denied that it has jurisdiction — over demolition and site preparation work for federal buildings on federal property,” National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) chair Will Scharf said during a meeting on Thursday. “What we deal with is essentially construction — vertical build.”
The NCPC typically reviews construction and renovation plans for federal properties in the capital region, but Scharf stressed that it’s premature for the commission to act on Trump’s project.
“I know that the president thinks very highly of this commission, and I’m excited for us to play a role in the ballroom project when the time is appropriate for us to do so,” he said Thursday.
Trump tapped Scharf, who is also the White House staff secretary and was one of the president’s personal lawyers, to lead the NCPC in July.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in July that work on the $200 million addition off the existing East Wing was expected to begin this month and would be completed before the end of Trump’s second term in January 2029. The White House also released renderings of the proposed design and announced contractors picked for the project, which will be paid for by Trump and donors.
The NCPC’s next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 9. An agenda hasn’t been finalized so it’s unclear whether the ballroom project will be reviewed then.
Scharf said a recent story in The Washington Post, which highlighted the often-lengthy NCPC approval process, mischaracterized the commission’s role in the undertaking.
“Overall, the upshot of this article was that something was wrong with the ballroom project,” he said. “I think that article was deceiving.”
