WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that would have reviewed President Donald Trump’s ballroom construction project, a White House official confirmed to NBC News.
The official said that the White House is “preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are more aligned with President Trump’s America First Policies” and that the six board members — all of whom were appointed by former President Joe Biden — were informed they were “terminated, effective immediately,” via a White House email.
The Washington Post first reported the firings.
The board is tasked with advising the president, Congress and the District of Columbia’s government “on matters of design and aesthetics, as they affect the federal interest and preserve the dignity of the nation’s capital,” the commission’s website says.
The board members were dismissed shortly after Trump announced unveiled plans to build an arch along the Potomac River echoing the design of France’s Arc de Triomphe and a new ballroom where the White House’s East Wing stood until just days ago.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization created by Congress to help preserve historic buildings, sent a letter last week urging the Trump administration to stop the East Wing’s demolition until ballroom plans went through the CFA and the National Capital Planning Commission, which is also tasked with reviewing and giving feedback on construction projects in Washington.
A White House official told NBC News last week that construction plans will be submitted to the NCPC “soon when it is time.”
Trump appointed three new members to the NCPC board in July, including his aide William Scharf, who is now the NCPC’s chair.
There is precedent for bypassing the Commission of Fine Arts and moving forward with construction plans. The CFA advised against President Harry Truman’s 1947 plan to build a balcony on the White House’s South Portico — but Truman replaced commission members and went ahead with the construction anyway, according to the White House Historical Association.
The CFA, established by Congress in 1910, reviewed a 2019 project by first lady Melania Trump to build a tennis pavilion at the White House during Trump’s first term. It was completed in 2020.