Critics speak of abuse of power Trump fires architecture commission that could slow him down
Donald Trump is intervening deeply in architectural policy in Washington: The US president has fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts - the very agency that was supposed to review his controversial building plans for a ballroom and a triumphal arch.
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- Trump has dismissed the entire Commission on Fine Arts (CFA) in Washington.
- The committee was supposed to review Trump's construction plans for a ballroom and a triumphal arch.
- Critics see this as an attempt to eliminate supervisory bodies and install political henchmen.
There is a new building site spirit in the White House - and it is politically explosive: President Donald Trump has dismissed all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, a traditional authority that reviews building and design projects in the US capital.
According to the Washington Post, a letter from the White House personnel department stated that their mandates would be "terminated with immediate effect". Under Joe Biden, the commission was made up of architects, urban planners and cultural professionals - whose term of office would have actually run until 2028.
A spokesperson for the White House confirmed the move: they are now "preparing a new line-up that is more in line with President Trump's America First policy". Among the projects that will soon be on the desks are a 300-million-dollar ballroom on the White House grounds and a triumphal arch in Washington, both of which are prestigious projects for the president.
Trump plans ballroom and Arc de Triomphe
The decision follows a move made in the summer, when the White House also dismissed all Biden appointees from the National Capital Planning Commission, the capital's most important planning authority. Trump's confidants now hold the majority there.
Officially, the new commission is only supposed to "advise" on construction projects. However, Trump could - similar to Harry S. Truman when building the famous White House balcony - bypass the review bodies. He already had parts of the East Wing demolished last week, without a formal review process.
Former commission members such as architect Bruce Becker reacted indignantly: "The commission plays a crucial role in how the public experiences the architectural face of the capital. To disempower it jeopardizes historical continuity and transparency."
While the ballroom is likely to be built directly on government land, the planned triumphal arch would be built on federal land outside the White House - making official approval mandatory.
Trump's construction plans represent a change of course in cultural policy: away from modern lines and towards classicist monumentality - very much in the style of his earlier "Beautify America" initiative. For critics, the dismissal of the commission is another attempt to replace institutional control with loyalty.
