Raskin to introduce bill to require review of White House renovation plans

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Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland plans to present authorities Tuesday that would taxable White House renovations similar President Trump's ballroom project to the aforesaid reviews arsenic different national projects. Currently, the White House is exempt from definite oversight nether the National Historic Preservation Act.

Raskin's bill, called the "People's White House Historic Preservation Act," would necessitate White House renovations to acquisition a alleged "Section 106 review," a pre-ground breaking appraisal that addresses the interaction of renovations connected historical buildings and allows the nationalist to measurement in.

The authorities comes 3 months aft operation crews began enactment connected a privately-financed, 90,000-square-foot ballroom summation that volition outgo astir $300 million. A operation crane hangs implicit the tract wherever the East Wing erstwhile stood. It was demolished successful precocious October, adjacent though President Trump had antecedently said the caller operation would beryllium "near it but not touching it — and pays full respect to the existing building."

Mr. Trump has reveled successful however casual it's been to accelerated way the project. In October, Mr. Trump recounted being told, "Sir, this is the White House, you're the president of the United States, you tin bash thing you want."

"It's kings who dainty nationalist spot arsenic backstage property," Raskin, the apical Democrat connected the House Judiciary Committee, told CBS News successful a telephone interview. "It's not his house; it's our house. And if determination is going to beryllium operation and renovation enlargement oregon changes, that should spell done a regular nationalist process."

The White House asserts Mr. Trump has "full ineligible authorization to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House."

Aside from renderings Mr. Trump has shown astatine assorted events, ballroom schematics person faced small ceremonial scrutiny — but that whitethorn soon change.

In a tribunal filing precocious Monday, the medication said consultations "will soon beryllium underway" with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, 2 autarkic advisory boards overseeing national projects successful the Washington area. The medication added that it was not legally bound to confer with either committee and that above-ground ballroom operation would statesman successful April astatine the earliest.

Raskin's measure would mandate consultations with some commissions anterior to crushed breaking.

At its monthly gathering successful aboriginal December, NCPC president Will Scharf, who is besides a White House staffer, said the White House was not required to taxable demolition plans due to the fact that the committee lone oversees caller construction.

"We simply bash not person jurisdiction implicit demolition and tract mentation work; that what we're truly acrophobic astir present is disposable architecture — is above-ground build," Scharf said, adding that NCPC would play a "constructive role" erstwhile the clip comes.

Trump Replaces Architect To Lead $300 Million Ballroom Design

Raskin argues that leveling the East Wing without a reappraisal process was a usurpation of demolition of national spot laws, though helium acknowledges the president cannot beryllium prosecuted nether those statutes.

Currently, Raskin's authorities has 27 Democratic co-sponsors. With Republicans successful power of the House, the measurement faces agelong odds.

"I anticipation that determination are capable champions of the public-private favoritism successful the Republican caucus that we tin bring immoderate over," Raskin said.

Last week, National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a suit seeking to halt ballroom construction. "No president is legally allowed to teardrop down portions of the White House without immoderate reappraisal whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, not anyone else," the Trust's suit said. "And nary president is legally allowed to conception a ballroom connected nationalist spot without giving the nationalist the accidental to measurement in."

In response, the medication said the Trust's ailment was moot "because the demolition has already occurred and cannot beryllium undone."

An archetypal proceeding successful the lawsuit is scheduled for Tuesday day successful Washington.

Jennifer Jacobs and Jacob Rosen contributed to this report.