The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit tasked by Congress with helping preserve historical buildings, sued the Trump administration for tearing down the East Wing of the White House and asked a federal judge for an emergency stop-work order. The judge did not stop work on the new ballroom, but he did order the White House to get approval from the necessary agencies.
In his eagerness to build his gigantic ballroom, Trump bypassed the normal review process for making changes to a historic building.
Trump knew that if he went through the legally-required process, it would take years to get the necessary approvals, and some busybody preservationists might tell him to scale back his grand plans. The new ballroom–at 95,000 square feet– will be almost double the size of the entire White House–which is 55,000 square feet.
So he followed his personal motto: “Stop me if you can.”
Without asking permission he demolished the East Wing. It is gone, finished.
Now he will take his plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, which will hold hearings starting January 8.
Ordinarily, the NCPC review is rigorous and involves multiple hearings before a shovel touches the ground, reviewing esthetic and environmental issues.Trump expects to get done in a few months what customarily takes years of review before any work begins.
The 12-member NCPC will not pose a problem. The Washington Post reported:
The NCPC is led by Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary and Trump’s former personal lawyer, whom the president appointed as commission chair in July, and its members tilt toward Trump. The president appointed two other White House officials to the body, and the commission also includes nine seats apportioned to sitting Cabinet secretaries and other local and federal officials.
Trump’s grandiose plan must also win the approval of the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts. That should not be a problem either, because in October, Trump fired all six members of the Commission. That Conmission (if Trump has appointed new members) will review the proposed ballroom that will replace the East Wing and also Trump’s plan to build an Arc d’Trump.
It’s clear sailing with no dissents anticipated.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
…and if anyone does object he will fire them and appoint another one of his loyalist….there are no checks and balances in place anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trump is to the United States what Mussolini was to Italy. A disgrace. But Mussolini was at least somewhat literate. Trump is not even that.
LikeLike
Oddly, WordPress is asking me to sign in, again, every time I post on this blog. And it keeps asking me to subscribe, even though I have been a member of Diane’s blog for years. Weird.
LikeLike
Very strange. I dint understand why this is happening.
LikeLike
Bob,
Write to help@Wordpress.com
Ask why they require you to sign in.
Diane
LikeLike
They do the same thing to me for at least a couple of years. I gave up. I don’t think they have real people who actually care.
LikeLike
And if you make a mistake with your word Press password, they erase your comment, too, so you have to write it again. I just realized I should try to copy it so I can paste it back in.
LikeLike
Don’t give up.
WordPress is horrible at customer relations. They drove away many readers by unsubscribing them. That happened to my brother and close friends.
LikeLike
I find I reply to posts less frequently because it is such a hassle. Like now! Every time I post I also have to say I want to see new comments and I don’t see new comments unless I comment., too. As far as I can tell, they keep coming up with new ways to drive people away.
LikeLike