The last national #NoKings was in October 18, 2025. That was a Saturday. Two days later, on October 20, 2025, Donald Trump began the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. He didn’t tell anyone–not in public, anyway–nor did he follow the law and seek the approval of two boards of review.

Before anyone had a chance to react, the East Wing was a heap of rubble.

Trump declared that he the finished plans to replace it with a grand ballroom that could seat 1,000 people. He showed drawings of a room dripping in gold. A room that belonged in Las Vegas alongside the glittering, gaudy attractions, not alongside the President’s house, which has a simple elegance.

When civic groups and historic preservationists complained that he broke the law, they pointed out that he neglected to get the approval of the Conmission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, which is required by law.

Trump immediately solved the problem of an independent review by replacing every member of both commissions with loyal flunkies.

No surprise, the Commission on Fine Arts unanimously approved Trump’s ballroom unanimously. The chairman of the Commission said the ballroom was desperately needed and credited its “beautiful” structure to Trump.

Meanwhile an independent group called the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to block the ballroom. Their lawsuit was dismissed, but the judge suggested they could sue for other reasons, and they have. That suit is pending.

Having won the approval of the Commision on Fine Arts, the ballroom issue went to the National Capital Planning Commission, stacked with Trump devotees.

The NCPC invited public comment. Some 35,000 letters poured in, an unprecedented response. The letters were overwhelmingly hostile to the plan; The Washington Post estimated that about 97% of those who wrote were opposed.

At the public hearing, 30 people testified; 29 were opposed.

The Society of Architectural Historians entered a scathing statement into the record, critical of every aspect of the design.

The NCPC decided to delay its decision until April 2.

There is no doubt whatever that the NCPC will enthusiastically endorse Trump’s grand ballroom. Trump is committed to the idea. At one of his first public briefings about the attack on Iran, Trump spoke tersely about the conflict, then segued to musing about the golden drapes in his new ballroom. That’s when he became animated.

Throughout the process, Trump again proved that he is above the law. He believes that the White House is his personal property, and he can change it however he wants. It’s the architectural version of DOGE. Trump sees no reason to seek approval from Congress or any other body for whatever he wants to do.

He doesn’t need Congress to approve the elimination of foreign aid or the gutting of the Department of Education. When he realized he needed the approval of two little-known agencies to get what he wanted, he replaced everyone on both panels that wasn’t a loyalist.

He knows how to rig the outcome. In his vanity and narcissism, he never loses. That’s why he continues to insist that the 2020 election was rigged despite the total absence of any evidence. He never loses.