Scharf “cited the expected length of testimony from more than 100 people who signed up to weigh in on the project, which he said may require extending the meeting into Friday,” the newspaper reported. The Washington Post.
Longtime architect, David Scott Parker, He said He told the committee he had “serious concerns” about the exaggerated size of the planned ballroom, which is “three times the size of the original White House, in violation of the principles of classical architecture that impose balance.”
Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of the Capital Preservation League, He said The panel — which also includes two other White House staffers, Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and chief statistician Stuart Levenbach — said the proposed hall was “disproportionately large and impersonal and would detract from the gracious atmosphere that has characterized presidential events for centuries,” while Kyle Rowan, who described himself as a “private citizen,” offered curt criticism.
“It’s ugly,” Rowan told commissioners. “It’s too much.”
Only one speaker out of 30 expressed his approval of the project.
The critics who attended the committee meeting in person represented only a small portion of the community cash Which has overwhelmed officials since the committee began collecting public comments about the proposed ballroom.
More than 35,000 comments were sent, and New York Times AI-powered analysis of responses found that 98% were negative. the mail It also used AI to determine that more than 97% of comments were critical, and measured this result against a sample of manually screened comments.
Some statements have pointed to Trump’s plan to fund construction of the hall through private donations, which he insisted would benefit taxpayers, but Democratic lawmakers and government watchdogs have warned that it is an example of blatant corruption, as companies with multibillion-dollar federal contracts, including Amazon, Google and Palantir, are among the donors.
“I’m tired of Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the People’s Assembly, our home, and his plans to build a massive ballroom with funding from No.”We are the people, but by billionaires who are corrupt, out of touch with reality, and unaccountable to anyone. “It’s beyond disgusting.” books A commentator named Donna Smith.
Julie Mason added that the hall plan “opened the door to extreme corruption by the president and his billionaire backers through quid pro quo,” and South Carolina resident Barbara Bryant added that “the financing of the project is perhaps the most troubling aspect.”
“The $400 million private corporate donation plan is a blatant attempt to evade congressional oversight,” Bryant wrote. “By allowing companies with active business before the government to finance a frivolous presidential project, the administration has created a breeding ground for corruption and turned a national landmark into a billboard for special interests.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt claimed without evidence Thursday that the public comments “clearly stemmed from an organized campaign of deranged Trump liberals who clearly have no style or taste.”
“It’s unfortunate that some people in this country are so afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome that they can’t even recognize or respect beauty when they see it,” Levitt said.
that Economist-YouGov poll was conducted last month Found 58% of Americans opposed the demolition of the East Wing to build the ballroom, while only 25% supported it.
The public comments echoed those of protesters who gathered outside the NCPC offices Thursday in a demonstration organized by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. The group has closely followed Trump resolution To provide the committee with officials in his administration and “the myriad of conflict-of-interest concerns” that arose with wealthy corporations Lined up for financing Ballroom.
John Golinger, a democracy advocate for Public Citizen who testified at the NCPC meeting on Thursday, male A federal judge accused the Trump administration of setting up a “Rube Goldberg contraption” to collect donations from “corporations, billionaires and an unknown number of secret donors” while evading “congressional, public, and public oversight.” [shielding] Donors and recipients of audit funds.
“According to news reports, these names are expected to be engraved on the White House as part of the ballroom’s brick or stone,” Golinger said. “It is disgraceful that the Trump administration would etch the names of companies with government contracts that gave it checks onto the White House like a big tacky billboard. I urge NCPC to explicitly prohibit it from doing so.”
At the meeting, Golinger condemned Trump’s decision to stack the committee with his own staff and said Scharf, Blair and Levinbach lacked the legally required experience in city or regional planning to sit on the committee.
“The reform exists for this project and this vote.” He said Golinger.
Scharf said he is qualified for the position because of his previous work in the Missouri governor’s office.
In protest, Golinger said that the committee’s decision to postpone the floor vote was a “huge victory,” considering that Trump had filled the committee with his “friends.”
“Public pressure was important,” he said. “It’s not the end of the fight, no doubt they’ll come back and try to crush it next time, but this [delay] “It’s not something I even imagined.”
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