Trump quietly appoints members to Commission of Fine Arts
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump has quietly appointed four new members to the Commission of Fine Arts, one of two federal panels reviewing his controversial plan to build a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom.
- The ballroom project, estimated to cost $400 million and financed by private donations including Trump himself, has already seen the demolition of the East Wing to make space for the addition.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a lawsuit to halt construction, arguing the Trump administration violated federal laws by starting the project before obtaining necessary approvals from federal commissions and Congress.
- The new appointments restore a quorum to the Commission of Fine Arts, allowing it to meet and review the East Wing Modernization project, with meetings scheduled for late January and formal presentations planned for February
