Trump names new chair of panel overseeing WH Ballroom construction

President Donald Trump this week tapped White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) General Counsel Mark Paoletta to lead the commission overseeing construction of the White House ballroom.

Paoletta will take over for Will Scharf as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), The Hill reported. The panel is an organizational body for myriad federal projects in D.C.

It has achieved greater significance in recent years due to Trump's efforts to "beautify" the nation's capital, including through the renovation of monuments, the cleaning of statues, and the deployment of the National Guard to lower crime.

The White House Ballroom project has been mired in legal scrutiny, due to a suit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has asserted that Trump lacks the authority to undertake such a large-scale renovation of the White House.

Construction has resumed, however, after Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily lifted a stay while litigation proceeds.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.