President Donald Trump’s massive new East Wing ballroom project has been widely controversial but promises to address problems that have been flagged by first families and their social secretaries on both sides of the aisle for decades.
The planned 90,000 square feet of space will take a key step toward becoming a reality Thursday when the White House formally sought approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, the official planning agency for federal lands and buildings..
The White House told the NCPC that the purpose of the expansion is to “establish a permanent, secure event space that expands its capacity for official state functions,” “eliminates reliance on temporary tents, temporary support facilities and associated infrastructure stress, and protects the historical integrity and cultural landscape of the White House and its grounds.”
Anyone involved in presidential party planning must contend with the White House’s lack of permanent event space to host state dinners and other large official affairs. The east hall can accommodate about 200 people. Anything larger will need to be moved outdoors.
It requires a tent, which has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years, and tens of thousands of pieces of White House lawn that will need to be replaced and repaired after the event, according to a source familiar with White House planning across multiple administrations.
The bill is borne by the State Department as part of the overall budget for state visits.
Over the years, the National Park Service, which has jurisdiction over the White House, has commissioned studies of various solutions, but they have often been shelved because until now there was no political will to advocate for a new structure.
Whatever the benefits of building a larger ballroom, however, the hasty, high-pressure and opaque dealings surrounding the project have drawn widespread criticism, prompting lawsuits, congressional investigations and public condemnation.
Officials at the NCPC, which is composed of Trump loyalists, will receive an overview of the project on Thursday, and the “information presentation” on the project will not include public testimony.
There will be no voting during the meeting, but the presentation will set the stage for a formal approval process that will ultimately include a public comment period.
The NCPC has reviewed and provided substantive feedback on other projects within the White House in the past, most recently including a refurbished White House fence and tennis courts overseen by first lady Melania Trump during the president’s first term, but that was before Trump replaced its members.
Now there are growing concerns that the 12-member NCPC will approve the plans without thorough review.
What to see in an “Information Presentation”
In its overview of the ballroom project, the committee said Thursday’s focus will be on “how the public will view and experience the modernization project from the surrounding public spaces.”
The NCPC said major issues that could be addressed include discussing how “the pedestrian-level view” may or may not change; how the structure connecting the new wing and the Executive Building will be designed; how the landscape will change; and “how perimeter security and related infrastructure will be enhanced and enhanced for the public and guests of the White House and its grounds.”
It’s unclear exactly who will speak at the NCPC, but commissioners are expected to ask questions and provide comments.
The East Wing of the White House is demolished during construction of President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom, as seen from the reopened Washington Monument on November 15, 2025. – Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters
Since announcing the plan last year, Trump has fully embraced his role as lead developer and has been personally closely involved in the details of the upcoming space.
But there are also many controversies. He shocked many by completely demolishing the East Wing, a space the first lady had occupied for decades, all without any warning or consultation.
Trump has said the price will be funded entirely by private donations, and it has climbed steadily from $200 million to $300 million and $400 million since July.
Amid controversy over the size of the ballroom, Trump hired Shalom Baranes Associates in December, replacing the original architect, James McCrery. Experts warn that the 90,000 square feet he envisions could dwarf the White House Executive Residence, which is just over half that, at 55,000 square feet.
Thursday’s “information presentation” to the NCPC typically takes place early in the project process — before ground is broken, before anything is demolished, while options are still being considered.
“The key difference is that they tend to look for alternatives. This is an early exploration of alternatives. You’re going to present several project approaches — which one do you think is more beneficial? That’s typically the feedback the committee gives at this point,” said Bryan Clark Green, an architectural historian, historic preservationist and educator who was appointed to the NCPC by then-President Joe Biden.
Last July, Trump replaced Greene on the committee with current deputy chief of staff James Blair, who has a background in finance and politics.
With the east wing completely demolished and underground work already underway, the ballroom is in a “very different phase of work” than the rest of the project in its informational presentation phase, Green said.
“When you talk about alternatives, all the arguments you have about all the things that would normally limit you disappear. They’re swept away. That’s not how this process works. It shouldn’t be like this,” he said.
FAQs posted about the project on NCPC’s website say the commission “does not review building demolition or general site preparation” and that “underground improvements are not subject to NCPC review” — a position that Green found laughable.
“Of course, the foundation is critical to the size and scale of the building,” he said.
“It’s a foregone conclusion”
Trump appointed three political loyalists to the commission last year, naming White House secretary of staff Will Schaff as chairman, Office of Management and Budget official Stuart Levinbach as vice chairman and Blair as commissioner. Their appointments mark a departure from previous presidential appointees, who traditionally had extensive expertise in architecture, historic preservation or urban planning.
The committee also includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Cuomo.
Phil Mendelson, chairman of the D.C. Commission and an ex-officio member of the committee, told CNN he hopes the president’s allies will move forward with the project quickly to please their boss.
“My concern is that so much is happening without any review, which I think is inappropriate, and that this is going to be moved forward very quickly with a lot of pressure to approve what the White House wants without any planning thought,” Mendelson said.
He added: “I see project after project after project, improvements made through feedback lead to better results. I’m concerned about the pressure to cut this short. … That’s part of the reason I’m concerned … they don’t really care what the NCPC thinks. They just want to get the steps done. They’ve got the votes, design be damned.”
Green predicted it was “a foregone conclusion” that the NCPC would approve the ballroom construction, but he said there was still a chance that any critics of the commission would remain silent until the voting process.
What we know about dancehall
The White House has provided little information about the ballroom’s design, announcing the start of construction in a July 31 press release that included white renderings of the large, classically designed structure.
Documents filed by the Trump administration last month provided some new details about the project’s timeline and scope, saying it would be completed by “summer 2028,” just months before Trump leaves office.
On October 28, 2025, an excavator parked on the rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished. – Alex Wong/Getty Images/File
The demolition phase of the project is expected to wrap up in December, according to a sworn statement from National Park Service liaison John Stanwich. This month, construction crews will be working on concrete foundations and underground structures in the East Colonnade area. Similar work will be carried out on the east wing in February.
The iconic East Colonnade will be reconstructed and redesigned as an “enclosed second story,” according to the National Park Service. From the new colonnade there will be an entrance into the East Room and into the ground floor of the Executive Residence.
The document also shows the new ballroom will be “55 feet tall.”
NPS’s environmental assessment also provides insight into other options considered before the east wing was destroyed. Options were reportedly considered to preserve the entire east wing and place the new ballroom structure south of the existing complex, but it was ultimately decided that the new ballroom would need to be adjacent to the executive residence with a gated passage.
Green said that during previous NCPC processes, questions about these alternatives would have been a major topic of discussion: “Can this function be accomplished in a building that is more appropriately sized for the White House? When was the last time you held a dinner for 1,000 people? What size do you actually need? Can you do it in such a way that the building is underneath the viewing shed? Can the footprint be smaller?”
Oversight and review
The project has prompted multiple lawsuits and inquiries on Capitol Hill.
Last month, the nation’s top historic preservation group sued the Trump administration to block construction of the project, claiming the White House was proceeding illegally because Trump failed to obtain congressional approval and submit his plans to the National Preservation Commission and another oversight board, the Board of Fine Arts, for review. In December, a federal judge said he would not order a halt to the work but left open the possibility that he could intervene later.
On Wednesday, Asbestos Disease Awareness, a nonprofit group dedicated to preventing asbestos exposure, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The group is seeking a court order to force the release of records related to demolition and asbestos risks that could harm workers and even the public.
Many lawmakers and committees on Capitol Hill are scrutinizing the project, investigating private donor funding, transparency and approval processes.
Multiple Democratic sources on Capitol Hill told CNN they are currently looking for new avenues to investigate the East Wing renovations. They are in the minority and hampered by the lack of subpoena power, but despite resistance from the White House, they are actively brainstorming new ways to obtain information.
Yet despite all the concerns about the design and its flow, the new ballroom building will solve a real problem that has plagued White House hosts and guests for years: No more ruined heels for a soggy walk across the rainy South Lawn to the tent; no more auxiliary refrigerators and grills in the press room due to lack of kitchen space; and a permanent indoor space suitable for large gatherings.
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