1. United States
2. Colo.
3. Letter

I am writing to express serious concern about the approval process for President Trump's White House ballroom project by the US Commission of Fine Arts. The integrity of this review has been fundamentally compromised by conflicts of interest and disregard for established preservation standards. The Commission that approved this controversial project is composed entirely of Trump appointees. At the meeting where approval was granted, two new Trump appointees were sworn in immediately before voting, including Chamberlain Harris, a White House aide. Commission Vice Chairman James McCrery abstained because his architecture firm was initially selected for the project before the administration switched to architect Shalom Baranes. This is not independent oversight. This is a rubber stamp. The public has spoken decisively against this project. Commission Secretary Thomas Luebke reported that the panel received over 2,000 public comments, with over 99% opposing the ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the plans did not comply with legally mandated review processes, stating that no president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever or construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in. The East Wing of the White House has already been demolished to make way for this construction. The ballroom's capacity has expanded from 500 to 1,350 people, fundamentally altering the character of this historic property. Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr defended the project as needed for over 150 years, but this claim does not justify circumventing proper review procedures or stacking the approval panel with presidential appointees. The National Capital Planning Commission will discuss this project in early March. I urge you to publicly oppose this ballroom project and demand that proper historic preservation review processes be followed before any further construction proceeds. The White House belongs to the American people, not to any single administration.