The Commission of Fine Arts, a panel whose members were all appointed last month by President Donald Trump, unanimously approved a plan for a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom Thursday, clearing one of the hurdles on the controversial project.
The seven-member panel also includes former lead architect on the project, James McCrery, who abstained from voting due to his role.
Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate the approval of the $400 million project, which is currently being challenged in court by a historic preservation group.
"The Commission of Fine Arts just approved, unanimously, 6 to 0, with one recusal because he had a conflict in that he worked professionally on the job, the White House Ballroom. Great accolades were paid to the building’s beauty and scale," wrote Trump on Truth Social.
People are also reading…
Detailed renderings reveal the scale of the proposed 89,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The images by Shalom Baranes Associates — later removed from the National Capital Planning Commission’s website — show a new East Wing roughly a city block long, longer than the West Wing and more than half the length of the adjacent Treasury Building.
The ballroom will be located at the site of the East Wing, which was suddenly demolished in October, drawing the ire of the general public, preservationists, and former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.
The CFA Secretary Thomas Luebke said during the meeting that he’d never seen such a volume of public engagement — with over 2,000 messages — in the two decades he'd worked there.
About 99% of those were negative, he added, upset about tearing down the East Wing and a lack of transparency about funding.
The White House has released a list of 37 donors that includes companies like Amazon, Apple, Caterpillar, Coinbase, Google, Comcast, HP, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, T-Mobile and Union Pacific Railroad, but hasn't specified amounts contributed. Some of the companies have business with the federal government.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit against the project in December, saying it needs Congressional approval and that the project's size would "overwhelm the White House itself." A ruling on the lawsuit is expected next month.
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, said she was "puzzled" by the two votes taken.
Not only did the panel vote to approve the concept plans for the proposed White House ballroom on Feb. 19, but in a second vote, "also approved the final plans, which had neither been presented nor reviewed," said Quillen.
"In doing so, CFA bypassed its obligation to provide serious design review and consider the views of the American people, including the over 99% of public" that expressed opposition to the current design, she said.
On March 5, the National Capital Planning Commission, the central planning agency of the federal government, will vote on the project. The 12-member commission, the majority of whom are Trump-appointed allies, will hold a public hearing on the same day. Registrations are now open.
"We urge NCPC to follow and respect the spirit of the review process, to consider public comments, and to preserve the historic integrity and symbolism of the People’s House for future generations," Quillen said after the CFA approval.
Photos: The White House Rose Garden through the years
President Truman congratulates three veterans of Koreas fighting after he presented them the Medal of Honor at White House Rose garden ceremony on April 11, 1952 in Washington. Left to right: Marine N/Sgt. Harold S. Wilson, Birmingham, Ala., the President; Army Lt. Lloyd L. Burke, Stuttgart, Ark., and Army Corp. Rodolfo P. Hernandez, Fowler, California. Relatives and officials (background) attended the event. (AP Photo)
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and President Jimmy Carter have a lunch in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 8, 1980. Sadat is meeting with Carter trying to break through the stalled peace talks with Israel. (AP Photo)
President Bush, right, and former South African President Nelson Mandela speak with reporters Monday, Nov. 12, 2001, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, after the two met to review Mandela's ongoing effort to bolster peace in Burundi. Bush commented about American Airlines Flight 587 that was on its way to the Dominican Republic with 255 people aboard when it crashed moments after takeoff in New York. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Members of Congress listen as President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Rose Garden, Colonnade and Oval Office are seen at the White House while President Obama was inside the Oval Office during a snowstorm that is blanketing the East Coast in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Richard Nixon has a pat on the back for former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird after it was announced in Washington that Laird will become Nixon's counselor for domestic affairs, June 7, 1973. Walking with them in the White House Rose Garden is Gen Alexander Haig, who is retiring from the Army to become presidential assistant in charge of running the White House staff. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)
FILE - The former Tricia Nixon and her husband Edward Finch Cox, walk from the altar at the White House Rose Garden after their marriage, June 12, 1971. Obscured by the bride and groom are matron of honor Julie Nixon Eisenhower and best man Howard E. Cox Jr. In the background is the Rev. Dr. Edward G. Latch, chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives, who performed the wedding. (AP Photo, File)
Construction in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Paper squares are taped to wall along the Colonnade outside along the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The recently renovated Rose Garden is pictured at the White House,, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The Rose Garden of The White House is seen from the Colonnade Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Exterior view of White House Building in Washington and Mrs. Warren Hardings Rose Garden in 1921. (AP Photo)
Shown in photo is White House South Portico and portion of Rose Garden in Washington, D.C. in 1921. (AP Photo)
President Dwight Eisenhower talks to members of the 2nd Atlantic Conference of Young Political Leaders in the White House rose garden in Washington, June 1, 1960. The youth group is meeting under the sponsorship of the Atlantic Treaty Association and the American Council on NATO. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)
President John Kennedy pulls Ladybird Johnson, wife of the vice president, up to the microphones during a ceremony in the rose garden behind the White House on May 24, 1961 in Washington. Vice President Lyndon Johnson and his wife were welcomed home from their globe-girdling fact-finding tour. Also prominent in the group are speaker Sam Rayburn, at left, behind Mrs. Johnson and Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill, is at center on the steps. (AP Photo)
Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.), addresses approximately 300 students at the White House in Washington on June 22, 1962, as President John F. Kennedy listens. The students who are going to Africa under the sponsorship of Operation Crossroads Africa, met with the chief executive, Humphrey, and Dr. James Robinson, right, of New York City, in the Rose Garden. Operation Crossroads Africa is privately financed, interracial, nondenominational organization. (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)
President Ronald Reagan sits beside Supreme Court nominee Sandra O’Connor as they pose for photographers in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, July 16, 1981. The President said he is confident Mrs. O’Connor will be confirmed as the first woman Supreme Court justice. (AP Photo)
U.S. President George H. Bush, with Secretary of State James A. Baker III at right hands a pen to Federal Republic of Germany Ambassador Juergen Ruhfus, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 1990 in a White House Rose Garden ceremony concerning a treaty on the reunification of East and West Germany. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
U.S. President George H. Bush pets a turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 1990 in Washington as Wyatt Upchurch, president of the National Turkey Federation who presented the bird looks on. The Thanks giving turkey is given to a animal farm near Washington. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander)
The Jacqueline Kennedy Garden is seen with the White House behind it in Washington Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Tens of thousands of people are expected to stream through the White House gates this weekend for a rare opportunity to see the fragrant roses, blue salvias and towering, decades-old trees that beautify the president's back yard. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
