Trump’s ballroom blitz, briefly explained

This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here.

Welcome to The Logoff: As President Donald Trump forges ahead with his plans for a ballroom on the White House grounds, he’s stacking the deck in his favor.

What happened? On Thursday, the Commission of Fine Arts — one of two committees to have a say in the new construction — voted unanimously to approve Trump’s planned ballroom in place of the demolished East Wing. That vote comes after the committee added its newest member, Chamberlain Harris, just this morning; she is also a current White House aide and has no relevant architectural experience.

Next up is the National Capital Planning Commission, which could vote on the project early next month and is headed by Trump’s current White House staff secretary, Will Scharf.

What’s the context? In October, Trump suddenly demolished the historic East Wing of the White House. In its place, he plans to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, potentially dwarfing the 55,000-square-foot main residence of the White House (and substantially eclipsing the 15,000-square-foot East Wing). Construction has been ongoing at the site for months, but above-ground work has not yet begun.

Why does this matter? The ballroom is — for now — the most visible example of what the New York Times described Thursday as Trump’s “Pharaonic legacy-building” project, and the East Wing its biggest victim. That could change, though, as Trump eyes other projects across the area, including a potential 250-foot arch just across the Potomac River (about half again as high as Paris’s Arc de Triomphe); a to-be-determined renovation to the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, which Trump has attempted to brand with his own name; and a potential renovation to the golf course at East Potomac Park, which could obliterate both public park space and some of Washington, DC’s beloved and historic cherry trees.

Trump is also trying out another bit of redecorating: As of Thursday, a banner with his image now hangs from Justice Department headquarters in downtown Washington.

We only have a few days left of the Winter Olympics, but Vox’s premier unofficial Olympics pop-up newsletter is going to run (or ski, or skate) through the tape. Today’s fun fact, in honor of Alysa Liu winning gold in the women’s free skate — did you know there’s a group chat just for US Olympic gold medalists in figure skating? (Liu was already in it after winning gold in the team skate earlier in the month.)

Thanks for reading, have a great evening, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!