White House ballroom plans APPROVED despite judge blocking TRUMP CONSTRUCTION

The National Capital Planning Commission approved President Donald Trump's plans to build a new White House ballroom on Thursday. Commission members approved the design and planning of the East Wing Modernization Project, a proposal aimed at updating and improving parts of the White House’s East Wing. Will Scharf, the chair of the commission, said he read every comment submitted to NCPC about the ballroom, saying most of the comments "dealt with issues beyond the scope of this commission.” "Considering issues of this sort is not within our mandate," Scharf said. "We are not some sort of free-ranging ballroom justice commission." A member of the commission and chairman of the D.C. Council, Phil Mendelson, strongly opposed the ballroom's plans, saying that it was “just too large.” Mendelson was the only commission member to vote against the ballroom plans. Several other members chose to abstain from voting yes or no. The East Wing project is part of ongoing efforts to maintain and modernize key government facilities while preserving their historic character. On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered that construction on President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom installation be halted, saying work must stop until the project gets approval from Congress. The president previously described the ballroom as a "beautiful building," noting that it will replace "the very small, dilapidated, and rebuilt many times, East Wing, with a magnificent New East Wing." https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/dc-planning-commission-to-vote-on-trumps-white-house-ballroom-plans-east-wing-modernization-project-under-construction-rfk-stadium-national-capital-planning-commission-washington-dc-president-donald-trump #trump #whitehouse #ballroom #construction #news -------------------------------------- The National Desk (TND) brings you award-winning local storytelling from Sinclair Broadcast Group's local TV newsrooms across the United States and feeds from sources throughout the world. Like us on Facebook for live feeds, video: https://facebook.com/TND/ Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/TND Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tndtok Follow us on X: https://x.com/TND Read more & watch our videos: http://thenationaldesk.com TND covers content from Sinclair's stations in: Abilene-San Angelo, TX : KTXS Albany, GA : WFXL Albany, NY : WRGB Amarillo, TX : KVII Asheville, NC : WLOS Austin , TX : KEYE Bakersfield, CA : KBAK/KBFX Baltimore : WBFF Beaumont, TX : KFDM/KBTV Birmingham, AL : WBMA Boise, ID : KBOI/KYUU Bristol, VA : WCYB Cedar Rapids, IA : KGAN/KFXA Champaign, IL : WCCU Charleston, SC : WCIV Charleston, WV : WCHS/WVAH Chattanooga, TN : WTVC Cincinnati, OH : WKRC/WSTR Columbia, SC : WACH Columbus, OH : WSYX/WTTE Dayton, OH : WKEF/WRGT El Paso, TX : KFOX/KDBC Eugene, OR : KVAL/KMTR Eureka, CA : KAEF Flint, MI : WEYI/WBSF Fresno, CA : KMPH Gainesville, FL : WGFL Green Bay, WI : WLUK Greenville-New Bern, NC : WCTI Harlingen, TX : KGBT Harrisburg, PA : WHP Jefferson City, MO : KRCG Johnstown, PA : WJAC Kalamazoo-Grand Rapids, MI : WWMT Kirksville-Ottumwa, IA : KTVO Las Vegas, NV : KSNV Lewiston, ID : KLEW Lincoln, NE : KHGI/KWNB Little Rock, AR : KATV Lynchburg, VA : WSET Macon, GA : WGXA Medford, OR : KTVL Mobile, AL : WPMI Myrtle Beach, SC : WPDE Nashville, TN : WZTV Oklahoma City : KOCB/KOKH Pasco, WA : KEPR Pensacola, FL : WEAR/WFGX Portland, ME : WGME/WPFO Portland, OR : KATU/KUNP Providence, RI : WJAR Quincy-Hannibal, IL : KHQA Redding-Chico, CA : KRCR Reno, NV : KRNV/KRXI Rochester, NY : WHAM Salt Lake City : KUTV San Antonio, TX : KABB/WOAI Savannah, GA : WTGS Seattle, WA : KOMO/KUNS Sioux City, IA : KMEG/KPTH South Bend, IN : WSBT Springfield, IL : WICS Steubenville, OH : WTOV Syracuse, NY : WSTM Toledo, OH : WNWO Traverse City, MI : WPBN Tulsa, OK : KTUL Washington DC : WJLA West Palm Beach, FL : WPEC Wilkes-Barre, PA : WOLF Yakima, WA : KIMA This video and all Sinclair Broadcast Group content archives of local news and sports coverage are available for your use. For more information contact us at [email protected]