President Donald Trump has tapped a 26-year-old with no known art expertise to serve on the federal arts commission that will will review his White House ballroom plans.
Chamberlain Harris, who serves as the executive assistant to the president and deputy director of Oval Office operations, appears to be the youngest member on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts currently.
The commission, comprised of seven members with “expertise in the arts,” is tasked with reviewing the “design and aesthetic” of all construction projects within Washington, D.C and approving buildings attached to the White House.
The commission will approve Trump’s new $400 million White House ballroom plan as well as his Arc de Triomphe-style arch. In October, the president fired all previous members of the Commission of Fine Arts to make room for his own appointments.
Among those the president has chosen to help push through his new plan is Harris. But the 26-year-old, who also served as the “Receptionist of the United States” during the first Trump administration, also appears to have limited arts experience, The Washington Post reports.
According to the Commission of Fine Arts, Harris managed Trump’s presidential portrait project alongside the National Portrait Gallery and White House Historical Association after he left the White House in 2021. She has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from SUNY Albany.
“President Trump has an incredible eye for the arts, and only selects the most talented people possible,” Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, said.
In addition to Harris, Trump has tapped his former ballroom architect, James C. McCrery II, to serve on the commission. McCrery has stepped down as the primary architect on Trump’s project and recused himself from the Commission of Fine Arts’ review of the ballroom to prevent a conflict of interest.
Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the founder of the National Monuments Foundation, is currently serving as the chairman of the commission. Other members include Mary Anne Carter, the chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts; Roger Kimball, a conservative arts critic; Pam Patenaude, the former deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the first Trump administration; and Matthew Taylor, a film director.
In addition to the Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission is also tasked with reviewing Trump’s ballroom plans. The president has also installed allies on the National Capital Planning Commission.
The new White House ballroom, which could be named for Trump, will be a 89,000 square foot entertaining space for the president and first lady to host state dinners and other events. While the president has raved about the new constructions, it’s been subject to controversy.
Initially, Trump said the addition would not interfere with the current structure of the White House, but later tore down the historic East Wing to make room for it. White House officials said the East Wing needed to be removed to make the structure sounder.
Trump also initially believed the ballroom would only cost $200 million, but the price has increased to $400 million. Trump has sought private donations to help cover the costs, also raising concern about the ethical implications of major corporations giving money for the ballroom.
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