WASHINGTON ‒ The White House is set to submit design plans for President Donald Trump's controversial White House ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission later in December.

Will Scharf, the commission's chairman, relayed the timeline to the panel during a Dec. 4 meeting, saying the designs will then go through the commission's review process at a "normal and deliberative pace."

"I'm excited for the NCPC to play a constructive role in what I expect will be one of the most important projects in the true core of Washington DC for many years to come," Scharf said.

Early site excavation and other construction work for the 90,000-square foot ballroom is already underway after the White House's East Wing was quickly demolished in October to make way for the massive addition. Trump wants the ballroom to be finished before the end of his term in January 2029.

The commission is stacked with Trump loyalists. Three of the five appointed members on the 12-member commission are appointed by the president, including Scharf, who is Trump's White House staff secretary.

The board's ex-officio members include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum; Acting Administrator of General Services Michael Rigas and two Republican lawmakers, Rep. James Comer and Sen. Rand Paul, who chair the House and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committees, respectively.

Although the commission will review the ballroom's designs, the panel lacks clear authority to outright reject projects from the White House.

Under the 1952 law that created the commission, if the federal agency requesting the project does not agree with the commission's views, "the agency may proceed to take action in accordance with its legal responsibilities and authority."

That could effectively make the commission's report on Trump's ballroom a set of recommendations, not a binding decision.

Trump taps new lead architect for ballroom

White House spokesman Davis Ingle confirmed to USA TODAY that architect Shalom Baranes of Washington, DC has been hired as the new lead architect on the ballroom project.

The move comes after James McCrery II, the project's original lead architect, expressed concerns to Trump about the size of the project and the ballroom overshadowing the main White House building, according to a report from the Washington Post. McCrery will continue as a consultant.

"Shalom is an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades and his experience will be a great asset to the completion of this project," Ingle said.

A White House official told USA TODAY the move is "not a replacement" of architects "but rather a passing of the baton" as the project moves into a new phase.

Trump has said the ballroom ‒ which will have a capacity of 999 people ‒ is needed to hold large White House events that currently take place outdoors or in the much smaller East Room.

An October Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found 56% of Americans oppose the demolition and ballroom project ‒ including 45% who said they "strongly oppose" it.

The White House in October, without prior announcement, demolished the East Wing of the White House even though design plans hadn't been submitted. Demolition of the East Wing was not protected under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires reviews of projects that affect most historic buildings, but explicitly exempts the White House, Supreme Court building and U.S. Capitol.

The White House has argued the National Capital Planning Commission ‒ the central planning agency of the federal government since 1952 ‒ does not have jurisdiction over the demolition of federal buildings, only the construction of them.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White House set to soon submit plans for Trump's ballroom to review panel

Reporting by Joey Garrison and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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