Democracy Dies in Darkness

Trump is rushing to build his ballroom. A review process could take years.

The National Capital Planning Commission, which has yet to consider the massive project, has taken years to approve much smaller changes at the White House.

9 min
President Donald Trump responds to reporters as he walks on the roof of the White House on Aug. 5. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Donald Trump is rushing to break ground next month on a giant White House ballroom, but has not yet submitted the project for a review that experts said is required by law and often takes years to complete.

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A security fence and a tennis pavilion — neither of which involved the White House itself — each took at least two years to move through the National Capital Planning Commission, which vets construction of and renovation to the region’s federal buildings. The Trump administration plans to start work next month on a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot structure that would nearly double the footprint of the main building and its East and West wings.

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