Trump-appointed panel approves White House ballroom project

The Commission of Fine Arts overwhelmingly approved design plans for President Donald Trump's ballroom project at the White House.

The panel made up of Trump appointees signed off on the design after architects made changes in response to commission concerns.

"We have to protect the country and the country's guests, and this is a facility that is definitely needed for over 150 years," Chairman Rodney Mims Cook Jr said.

The East Wing of the White House was demolished last fall to make way for the ballroom.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit, sued to halt ballroom construction, saying plans for the project did not comply with the legally mandated review processes.

Trump has argued the White House needs a ballroom because present facilities are inadequate to host important national events and foreign dignitaries.

He has said the building will be "the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world" and will be paid for with money donated from private sources.

The ballroom project has faced stiff opposition from historic preservation groups.

The commission's Secretary Thomas Luebke said the panel had received over 2,000 comments from the public and that they were "overwhelmingly in opposition - over 99% to this project".

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