WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a panel made up of President Donald Trump's appointees, on Thursday approved his proposal to build a ballroom larger than the White House itself where the East Wing once stood.
The seven-member panel is one of two federal agencies that must approve Trump's plans for the ballroom. The National Capital Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over construction and major renovation to government buildings in the region, is also reviewing the project.
Members of the fine arts commission originally had been scheduled to discuss and vote on the design after a follow-up presentation by the architect, and had planned to vote on final approval at next month's meeting. But after the 6-0 vote on the design, the panel's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., unexpectedly made another motion to vote on final approval.
Six of the seven commissioners — all appointed by the Republican president in January — voted once more in favor. Commissioner James McCrery did not participate in the discussion or the votes because he was the initial architect on the project before Trump replaced him.
The ballroom will be built on the site of the former East Wing, which Trump had demolished in October with little public notice. That drew an outcry from lawmakers, historians and preservationists who argued that the president should not have taken that step until the two federal agencies and Congress had reviewed and approved the project, and the public had a chance to provide comment.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom would be nearly twice the size of the White House, which is 55,000-square-feet, and would accommodate about 1,000 people, Trump has said. The East Room, currently the largest room in the White House, can fit just over 200 people at most.
Commissioners offered mostly complimentary comments before the votes.
Cook echoed one of Trump's main arguments for adding a larger entertaining space to the White House: It would end the long-standing practice of erecting temporary structures on the South Lawn that Trump describes as tents to host visiting dignitaries for state dinners and other functions.
“Our sitting president has actually designed a very beautiful structure,” Cook said. “The United States just should not be entertaining the world in tents.”
Members of the public were asked to submit written comment by a Wednesday afternoon deadline. Thomas Leubke, the panel’s secretary, said “over 99%” of the more than 2,000 messages it received in the past week from around the country were in opposition to the project.
Leubke tried to summarize the comments for the commissioners.
Some comments cited concerns about Trump’s decision to unilaterally tear down the East Wing, as well as the lack of transparency about who is paying for the ballroom or how contracts were awarded, Leubke said. Comments in support referenced concerns for the image of the United States on the world stage and the need for a larger entertaining space at the White House.
Trump has defended the ballroom in a recent series of social media posts that included drawings of the building. He said in one January post that most of the material needed to build it had been ordered “and there is no practical or reasonable way to go back. IT IS TOO LATE!”
The commission met Thursday over Zoom and heard from Shalom Baranes, the lead architect, and Rick Parisi, the landscape architect. Both described a series of images and sketches of the ballroom and the grounds as they would appear after the project is completed.
Trump has said the ballroom would cost about $400 million and be paid for with private donations. To date, the White House has only released an incomplete list of donors.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. A ruling in the case is pending.
In comments it submitted to the commission, the privately funded group recommended that the size of the ballroom be reduced to “accommodate and respect the primary historic importance of the original Executive Residence.”
At the commission's January meeting, some commissioners had questioned Baranes, Trump's architect, about the “immense” design and scale of the project even as they broadly endorsed Trump's vision. On Thursday, Baranes described changes he has since made to the design, and the commissioners said they welcomed the adjustments.
The ballroom project is scheduled for additional discussion at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by a top White House aide. This panel heard an initial presentation about the project in January.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the ballroom was approved by six of the seven commissioners and that one commission did not vote because he was the initial architect on the project.
Construction continues on the ballroom where the East Wing used to stand at the White House, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
Artist renderings and diagrams of the new White House East Wing and Ballroom, briefly posted on the National Capital Planning Commission's website ahead of a March 5, hearing, are photographed Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
President Donald Trump announced Thursday at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members have agreed to pledge a combined $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package, while five countries have agreed to deploy troops to take part in an international stabilization force to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
But $7 billion is only a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza, where a shaky ceasefire deal looms over Trump’s ambitions for his board to rival the United Nations in solving world conflicts.
Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
Instead, the president is turning his focus to domestic issues: In an hour, he’ll arrive in Georgia for a trip designed to help boost Republicans’ political standing heading into the midterms.
The Latest:
The Trump administration last week made a $160 million partial payment of its past dues to the United Nations regular budget, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told the Associated Press.
The payment comes as Trump adjourned his first meeting Thursday of the Board of Peace, a new initiative many see as his attempt to replace the U.N. Security Council’s role in preventing and ending conflict around the world.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had warned earlier this month that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States.
The U.S. owes $2.196 billion to the U.N.’s regular operating budget, including $767 million for this year, according to a U.N. official. The U.S. also owes $1.8 billion for the separate budget for the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping operations, and that also will rise.
It wasn’t only heads of state who offered major contributions to Trump’s Board of Peace.
FIFA president Giovanni Infantino outlined a new plan by the world’s governing body of football — “soccer” for those who live in the U.S. — to bring new sports opportunities to war-torn Gaza.
“We don’t have to rebuild houses or schools or hospitals or roads,” Infantino said. “We also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.”
Specifically, FIFA pledged to spend $50 million for a national football stadium in Gaza to hold between 20,000 and 25,000 spectators in addition to a FIFA academy at a cost of $15 million. The organization also vowed to build 50 “FIFA arena mini pitches” and five full-sized pitches at a total cost of $7.5 million.
Workers are restoring an exhibit depicting the history of the nine people once enslaved in Philadelphia amid a legal fight between the city and the Trump Administration.
Mayor Cherelle Parker visited the site Thursday morning and saw the work being done, spokesperson Joe Grace said.
A federal judge had set a Friday deadline for the Interior Department to restore the exhibit on the people enslaved by George Washington at the former President’s House on Independence Mall.
Senior U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe issued the deadline Wednesday even as the Justice Department appeals her order to reinstate the exhibit.
In the last of several statements made about the United Nations, Trump ended his inaugural meeting Thursday by hinting that the U.S. -- the world body’s largest donor -- will be making more changes to the institution, including to the appearance of its headquarters in New York.
Many world leaders and diplomats have been worried that Trump’s new initiative was an attempt to eclipse the U.N. Security Council. But Trump attempted to assuage those concerns, saying that the U.S. will “work again with the United Nations and, bring it back to health.”
He added that his administration plans to “fix up even the building.”
“I like to see beautiful buildings. I like to see buildings fixed up physically, not look like they are in disrepair,” Trump said. “We don’t like that. So we’re going to do a job with the United Nations.”
Billionaire investor Marc Rowan, a member of the Board of Peace’s executive committee, said reconstruction would begin in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.
He said 100,000 homes for 500,000 people, about a quarter of Gaza’s population, were initially planned, along with $5 billion of infrastructure. He said “over time,” 400,000 new homes for Gaza’s entire population were planned, with $30 billion in infrastructure projects.
He gave no timeline for when construction would begin.
“This is not a problem of money or collateral,” he said. “This is a problem of peace.”
In an hourslong meeting, leaders from various countries, including Peru, Bahrain and Pakistan, spent most of their speaking time praising Trump and what they called his “unprecedented” ability to end conflicts around the world.
Pakistan called him the “savior of South Asia,” while others said that years of U.S. foreign policy efforts by his predecessor failed to do what Trump has done in the last year.
The glowing remarks that went around from each corner of the globe resembled the same format and tone of Trump’s Cabinet meetings, which involve less policy substance and more adulation for the Republican president.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge that Gaza will not be rebuilt until Hamas disarms.
“We agreed with our friends in the United States: There will be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip before the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip,” he said in a speech to graduating officers at an army base in southern Israel.
“Soon, Hamas will face a dilemma: disarm the easy way — or disarm the hard way. But it will be disarmed, and Gaza will no longer threaten Israel.”
Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran’s nuclear program fizzle out.
Trump said he hopes to reach a deal with Iran, but the talks have been deadlocked for years, and Iran has refused to discuss wider U.S. and Israeli demands that it scale back its missile program and sever ties to armed groups. Indirect talks held in recent weeks made little visible progress, and one or both sides could be buying time for final war preparations.
Iran’s theocracy is more vulnerable than ever, following 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites and military last year, as well as mass protests in January that were violently suppressed. But it is still capable of striking Israel and U.S. bases, and has warned that any attack would trigger a regional war.
▶ Read more
Despite repeatedly underscoring the importance of preventing and ending conflict, Trump made several pointed remarks during his Board of Peace meeting directed at Iran as the U.S. has amassed a significant military in the region.
The Republican president stood in front of many of the same regional allies who have pressured the U.S. in the last few weeks to not take military action against Iran and once again warned its longtime adversary to come to the table with an acceptable deal or face the consequences.
“We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.
The inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace comes perhaps ironically at a time of high tension between the United States and Iran and one of the largest U.S. military buildups in the Middle East in decades, with one aircraft carrier group in the region already and another on the way.
The military moves have coincided with the series of threats Trump has made to Iran if it does not accede to his demands to denuclearize, give up ballistic missiles and halt funding extremist proxy groups.
Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the leader of the newly-created International Stabilization Force, announced that Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have all pledged troops to the effort. In addition, Egypt and Jordan, which border the Gaza Strip, have agreed to train the police and security forces.
“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts unanimously approved Trump’s proposal, despite raising concerns at the panel’s January meeting. Some commissioners had questioned the lead architect about its “immense” design and scale, roughly twice the size of the White House itself.
Trump’s demolition of the East Wing prompted a public outcry when it began without the independent reviews, congressional approval and public comment typical for even relatively minor modifications to historic buildings in Washington.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. And the project is scheduled for additional discussion at a March 5 meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, now led by one of Trump’s top aides.
The vice president nodded to domestic politics heading into the midterm elections in his brief statement to the board.
“The reason that we’re here today is yes to save lives and yes to promote peace, but this creates incredible prosperity for the American people,” Vance said.
He said the countries represented on the board represent “trillions of dollars of investment” in the U.S., and support millions of American jobs by buying goods made in America.
The direct line between the Board of Peace and the U.S. economy is not completely clear. Trump’s trade war has strained economic relations with several major U.S. allies.
The Republican president repeated his concerns and criticism of the United Nations during his Board of Peace meeting, saying the UN should have been more involved in conflict-solving than it has been.
But, Trump also said that the U.S. is going “to be working with the United Nations very close.”
“Someday I won’t be here. The United Nations will be, I think, is going to be much stronger,” he said. “The Board of Peace is gonna almost be looking over the United Nations, and making sure it runs properly.”
Trump also announced the U.S. is pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace, but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” Trump said.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are the countries that are making pledges, Trump said.
“But every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region),” said Trump in thanking the donors.
The amount, while significant, represents a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war.
Shouting out all of the various conflicts he says he solved, Trump mentioned that Iran is “a hot spot right now.” He said his envoys have had “very interesting” meetings with Iranian officials.
His positive comments come as the two adversaries have leaned into gunboat diplomacy in recent weeks, with nuclear talks between the nations hanging in the balance, Tehran holding drills with Russia and the Americans bringing another aircraft carrier closer to the Mideast.
“It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.
Trump is fueling the rivalry between the two members of his administration considered the front-runners to replace him as the GOP’s next presidential nominee: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Trump described Vance as “a fantastic man” and a “fantastic talent” before running through the highlights of the vice president’s education and marriage and noting that Vance “gets a little bit tough on occasion.”
The president then pivoted to Rubio, calling his leadership style “the opposite extreme. ... Marco does it with a velvet glove, but it’s a kill.”
Trump then praised Rubio’s performance at the Munich Security Conference this week, joking that if he did his job any better he’d be fired for outshining him.
Much can change in the two years before voters pick the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee. The Constitution bars Trump from seeking a third term.
A week after Trump blasted him as a RINO, short for Republican In Name Only, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt struck a conciliatory tone toward the White House.
“Politics is tough,” Stitt said Thursday at an event sponsored by Politico at the outset of the National Governors Association’s annual meeting. “Politics has a way of just beating you down over time so I can’t imagine being president of the United States. He’s got a tough job to do.”
Stitt is the president of the NGA this year. The group, made up of governors from both parties, is typically one of the few bipartisan organizations to convene in Washington each year.
But this year’s meeting has been defined by tensions as Trump has refused to invite two Democratic governors to a business meeting at the White House. Trump said Stitt mischaracterized his position.
President Donald Trump, center, with Vice President JD Vance to his left, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to his right, arrives for a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump stands with other World leaders before a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - President Donald Trump's name is seen on the U.S. Institute of Peace building, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
