Connecticut’s senior U.S. Senator has introduced legislation that would put what he call “additional guardrails” on the White House’s construction and demolition process.
Dubbed the “No Palaces Act” it would require the executive office of the president to obtain National Capital Planning Commission “approval for demolition activities and gives Congress a chance to disapprove of any modifications to the White House,” according to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
According to Blumenthal, he introduced the legislation ahead of a scheduled National Capital Planning Commission meeting, where President Trump’s White House ballroom project was possibly to be discussed.
USA Today reported that The White House now is “set to submit design plans for President Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission later in December.”
“President Trump took a wrecking ball to the White House—demolishing the iconic East Wing to make way for his monstrous, multi-million-dollar ballroom,” said Blumenthal. “My No Palaces Act prevents future presidents from recklessly destroying historic sites like the East Wing without approval from the independent National Capital Planning Commission or consideration from Congress. The guardrails in this measure will ensure future presidents cannot remake the People’s House into their personal palace.”
The White House objected to this description, when asked about Blumenthal’s comments and plans for legislation.
“President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves at no cost to the taxpayer – something everyone should celebrate,” said White House spokesman Davis Ingle, who responded to the Courant’s question about the proposed legislation.
“Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that,” Ingle said.
The Associated Press reported that the 90,000-square-foot ballroom will dwarf the main White House itself, at nearly double the size with an estimated price tag of $300 million. AP also reported that Will Scharf, who was appointed by Trump as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at the panel’s monthly meeting that he has been told by colleagues at the White House that the plans will be filed sometime in December.
Reuters reported that Trump has selected a new architect to oversee his $300 million White House ballroom project, citing a White House spokesman.
Blumenthal said, about the No Palaces Act, that it would “explicitly include ‘demolition activities’ in the list of actions that would trigger National Capital Planning Commission, or NCPC, review.”
Further, according to Blumenthal, it would require the “Executive Office of the President, and any agency acting on its behalf, to complete NCPC review and obtain NCPC approval before beginning any demolition/improvements.”
It also would create “a new regime through which Congress could pass a joint resolution of disapproval on NCPC-approved improvement to the White House, modeled on the Congressional Review Act.”
Other points made by the Blumenthal team on the bill include:
- It would require congressional authorization for the use of private funds for improvements to the White House;
- It would require that the executive branch comply with general appropriations requirements in financing improvements to the White House;
- It would establish a right of action for several “well-positioned individuals and institutions, including any Member of Congress, to bring a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking injunctive relief enforcing this law, with expedited procedures for review.”
Blumenthal, who is a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said he has demanded answers from the private donors to the White House ballroom project, the fundraiser and lobbyists who have coordinated funds for the ballroom, and the architect, construction firm, and engineering firm working on the project.
The full text of the No Palaces Act is available here.