Trump administration fires all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts who would review ballroom plans

The White House on Tuesday fired the six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, which is a federal agency charged with providing advice on architectural developments in the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C. "We are preparing to appoint a new group of members to the commission who are more aligned with President Trump's America First policies," a White House official told the Washington Post.

The newspaper reported that, although the administration of President Donald Trump dismissed all members of the commission, it is still expected to be tasked with reviewing plans not only for the arch that is planned to be built, but also for the possible ballroom. These six members had recently been appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden during his administration, with their terms set to officially expire after 2028.

Demolition of the East Wing

The White House move comes at a time when Trump is moving forward with construction of the ballroom at the White House and after publicly stating his intention to build an arch near the entrance to the District. The first steps executed for the materialization of such projects were the demolition, last week, of the East Wing of the White House, the space in which the ballroom will be built, about which Trump explained that it would cost $300 million and would be used to host major events, including state dinners.

Following the demolition, the White House argued that it did not require any type of approval to take this action, assuring that only new vertical constructions require authorization from the National Capitol Planning Commission. Despite this, the Trump administration is expected to show plans for the hall before the commission, which is currently headed by White House staff secretary Will Scharf.