White House officials fired all six members of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, a federal agency which would have been tasked with advising on the design elements of the new $300 million White House ballroom championed by President Donald Trump.

The move comes just a week after the entire East Wing was demolished to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Preservationists and critics, including former first lady Hillary Clinton, have decried the demolition.

A White House official told USA TODAY that the administration was preparing to appoint a new slate of members to the commission that are “more aligned with President Trump's America First Policies."

The commission, established in 1910 by Congress, is charged with giving expert advice on matters of design and aesthetics to the president, Congress and other notables.

The National Trust for Preservation last week urged the administration and the National Park Service to pause demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom “go through the legally required public review processes, including consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts,” both of which it said have authority to review new construction at the White House.

Carol Quillen, the National Trust's president and CEO, said in a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission, the National Park Service and the Commission of Fine Arts said that the 90,000 square feet of new construction “will overwhelm the White House itself.” The White House comprises 55,000 square feet of space.

“(The addition) may also permanently disrupt the carefully balanced classical design of the White House with its two smaller, and lower, East and West Wings,” Quillen wrote.

The White House has said that it does not need approval for demolition. It said it would submit plans for the ballroom to the NCPC "soon."

The commission is also charged with providing advice to the U. S. Mint on the design of coins and medals, and approving the site and design of national memorials, both in the United States and on foreign soil.

Trump has also proposed an arch to be built, across from the Lincoln Memorial. The arch, similar to Paris's iconic Arc de Triomphe, would serve as a gateway to Washington while entering via the Arlington Memorial Bridge from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The commission, which consists of seven members includes architects, planners and design experts, are appointed by the president and serve for a term of four years. Currently, one seat had been vacant, the White House official said.

All current members were picked by former President Joe Biden starting in 2021, with two members joining the board in 2024.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House fires fine arts advisers as Trump's $300 million ballroom plans whirl

Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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