Architecture of Corruption – Trump Fires the Entire Arts Commission and Plans a New Versailles in the White House

It was a blow against any form of independent oversight: The White House has dismissed all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts, the long-standing federal commission that for more than a century has overseen the architectural and aesthetic design of the U.S. capital. The dismissals came by email, without warning, without explanation.

“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts is terminated, effective immediately,” reads the message we were able to review. Sender: an employee in the Presidential Personnel Office.

The entire body is affected – all six members, all of them appointed by President Joe Biden for four-year terms. The dismissals mark not only an institutional rupture but also a symbolic one: the attempt to bring the last remaining traces of independent design authority in Washington under political control. The Commission of Fine Arts was established by the U.S. Congress in 1910. Its task: to advise the government on architecture, art, and national symbolism and to protect the city’s historical structure. It was never a powerful body – but a bulwark against bad taste, grandiosity, and political interference. That Trump has now dismissed it in one sweep says more about his attitude toward public aesthetics than any speech could: architecture as an instrument of power.

Our research shows that the decision is directly connected to Trump’s new construction plans for the White House. As early as summer, he ordered the complete reconstruction of the East Wing – to be replaced by a gigantic ballroom. According to documents, the project covers more than 8,000 square meters, with costs estimated at around 280 to 300 million dollars. Trump himself spoke of “private financing” through himself and “friends and donors.” See our article: “Trump, Tech and the Ballroom — How a President Uses Corporate Cash to Fund His Sun King Dream” at the link: https://kaizen-blog.org/en/trump-tech-und-der-ballsaal-wie-ein-praesident-seinen-sonnenkoenig-traum-mit-konzernkassen-finanzieren-laesst/

Whether the arts commission would have had any say at all is legally disputed. According to past practice, it would at least have been expected to issue recommendations. But Trump has shifted jurisdiction at will – appointing White House staff secretary Will Scharf, one of his most loyal confidants, as chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, which is now to have sole authority. Two additional loyalists were appointed to the body. This effectively eliminates oversight. The National Capital Planning Commission may only review projects once construction is visibly underway – not during demolition or planning. A legal loophole Trump is deliberately exploiting. The legal safeguards do not apply either: The Shipstead-Luce Act of 1930, which regulates alterations to the historic cityscape, covers only buildings that face the White House – not the White House itself.

What Trump seeks to build is not merely a structure, but a staging of authority. The planned ballroom is only part of a larger project: a triumphal arch to mark the 250th anniversary of independence in 2026, a new rose garden in marble, and a series of “classical” government buildings intended to echo the monumental architecture of past empires. Trump has even issued an executive order requiring all new federal buildings to be constructed in the “classical style” – a measure that explicitly excludes brutalist or modern forms. Officially, the goal is to “promote the beauty of American architecture.” In reality, what is emerging is a political style program that mirrors Trump’s personal taste and understanding of power: grand, heavy, white – and humiliating in its dominance.

What is unfolding here is not a matter of architecture, but of corruption through design. Where once expert bodies decided, loyalty, donor access, and personal favors now prevail. The dismissal of the entire commission is not merely an administrative act – it is an architectural coup at the heart of American democracy. While construction plans for the East Wing advance, the public process is effectively paralyzed. All staff members of the commission have been – officially due to the government shutdown – placed on furlough. No body meets, no public session is held. Anyone who asks questions now receives no answers.

And yet the signs are unmistakable. Where checks and balances once guided the city’s development, there is now silence. It is the same logic that has defined Trump’s presidency for years: power as private property, public institutions as a stage for personal performance. That he is now reshaping the architectural space in his own image is only consistent. It is the continuation of the same corruption that has run through his political biography – this time cast in stone, glass, and gold. A ballroom for 280 to 300 million dollars, a triumphal arch for eternity, and a capital whose history is being rebuilt.