By GARY FIELDS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is expected to submit plans for its new ballroom to a planning commission this month, the presidentially appointed head of the panel said Thursday.

“Once plans are submitted, that’s really when the role of this commission, and its professional staff, will begin,” Will Scharf, chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at its monthly meeting.

The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will dwarf the main White House itself, at nearly double the size, and President Donald Trump has said it will accommodate 999 people. It will have an estimated price tag of $300 million, a cost that has increased from initial projections.

Trump said on social media that the ballroom won’t cost taxpayers a dime because it is being pri

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