OAN Staff Addie Davis and Brooke Mallory
11:00 AM – Friday, April 3, 2026
The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) has voted to approve President Donald Trump’s plans for the new White House ballroom.
The NCPC derives its authority from the National Capital Planning Act of 1952. This federal law designates the NCPC as the central planning agency for the federal government in the D.C. region.
Under the Act, any federal agency — including the Executive Office of the President — proposing a development project in the National Capital Region must submit its plans to the NCPC for review. The commission is legally charged with ensuring that new construction is:
- Consistent with the “Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital.”
- Architecturally appropriate for the city’s historic character.
- Logistically viable regarding traffic, security, and environmental impact.
Since the White House is a federal property within the District of Columbia (DC), it falls squarely under the NCPC’s jurisdiction. While the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) also reviews such projects, its role is technically advisory, whereas the NCPC holds approval authority over the master plans and site designs of federal buildings.
“I would like to thank the hardworking Commissioners and Staff of the National Capital Planning Commission, who just voted overwhelmingly, 8-1, to approve the magnificent White House Ballroom now rising on this Hallowed Ground,” Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday.
“When completed, it will be the Greatest and Most Beautiful Ballroom of its kind anywhere in the World, and a fabulous complement to our Beautiful and Storied White House!” he declared.
Phil Mendelson, the only dissenting voice on the commission, cast the lone vote against the project, citing the scale of the proposal. He argued that the 90,000-square-foot structure was “too large” for the historic grounds.
While two other members of the 12-person body chose to vote “present,” Mendelson’s opposition centered on alleged “concerns” that the modernization project would overwhelm the existing architectural balance of the White House site.
“If we can get the same program but not as tall, not competing in height with the main structure, and a condensed footprint, we are better for that,” he said.
Although the project will be funded entirely by private donors, rather than U.S. taxpayers, the ballroom plans have sparked significant backlash, drawing thousands of negative public comments during a commission meeting in March. Nonetheless, in response to complaints, Commission Chair Will Scharf emphasized that previous White House modifications by other presidents have faced similar criticisms.
“I believe that in time, this ballroom will be considered every bit as much of a national treasure as the other key components of the White House,” Scharf said, according to the Washington Examiner.
“And I believe that in time, the nation and successive presidents of both parties and all political stripes, long into the future, will be grateful to President Trump for having initiated and brought this project into being,” he continued.
The vote comes days after a federal judge, Richard J. Leon, temporarily blocked construction on the ballroom, arguing that the project needs congressional approval.
“The president may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds,” Leon wrote. “Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballroom, or at least decide that some other funding scheme is acceptable.”
“Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation’s property and its oversight over the Government’s spending,” the judge wrote. “And the American people will benefit from the branches of Government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles. Not a bad outcome, that!”
President Trump immediately condemned the ruling, taking to Truth Social on Tuesday.
“He is WRONG! Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House,” he said, further highlighting that only private funds are being used for the $400 million project.
“In this case, even less so, because the Ballroom is being built with Private Donations, no Federal Taxpayer Money!”
The president also took aim at the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), which filed the lawsuit, dismissing the group as “a Radical Left Group of Lunatics.” Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to appeal the ruling, which is scheduled to take effect 14 days after it is issued.
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