President Donald Trump has installed his 26-year-old executive assistant as the latest member of the panel meant to oversee his controversial White House ballroom project.
Chamberlain Harris, deputy director of Oval Office operations, will be sworn in at Thursday’s meeting of the Commission of Fine Arts — one of two bodies that must approve the scheme.
Harris, the deputy director of Oval Office operations, didn’t study art or architecture in college, majoring in political science at the University of Albany, SUNY, with minors in communications and economics, according to a Washington Post report on the pick.
What she lacks in experience, she makes up for in loyalty.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung described her to the Daily Mail as ‘loyal, trusted and highly respected.’ He added: ‘She understands the President’s vision and appreciation of the arts like very few others, and brings a unique perspective that will serve the Commission well. She will be a tremendous asset.’
Harris’s appointment comes after Trump hurriedly named seven members to the commission in January, having fired everyone remaining on the panel the previous October.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is suing Trump, arguing he should have allowed the ballroom project to go through the CFA and the National Capital Planning Commission before demolishing the East Wing in October.
A ruling is expected soon, with the Washington Post reporting that the federal judge keyed in on private donations being used to fund the estimated $400 million project, as a way to bypass Congressional authorization.
Chamberlain Harris (left), a 26-year-old White House executive assistant, has been named by President Donald Trump (right) as a member of the Commission of Fine Arts, one of two oversight groups that will need to approve his grand ballroom
26-year-old Chamberlain Harris will be sworn in at Thursday’s Zoom-only CFA meeting. She graduated from college and went directly into the first Trump administration, worked for the President when he was out of office and then returned to the White House last January
Trump had already begun stacking the NCPC with allies ahead of the demolition, naming White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf as chairman.
Scharf has argued the NCPC oversees construction, not demolitions – providing the East Wing’s destruction with legal cover.
Alongside Harris, Trump also named the ballroom’s original architect, James C. McCrery, to the commission.
McCrery later handed the project to Shalom Baranes Associates, a firm known for large federal builds, though the current designs remain based on his work and he stays close to the president.
Georgia-based architect Rodney Mims Cook Jr. chairs the group and has expressed support for the ballroom.
Other members include Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and a close ally of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles; conservative writer Roger Kimball; former HUD deputy secretary Pamela Hughes Patenaude; and MAGA-aligned filmmaker and sculptor Matthew Taylor.
Thursday’s meeting — Harris’s first — will be held over Zoom rather than in person, a decision one source familiar with the CFA’s workings suggested was deliberate.
‘The meeting is Zoom-only even though chairman Rodney Cook said at the last meeting he wanted the commission to meet in person,’ the source told the Daily Mail. ‘Of course, this helps avoid trouble from the public and press.’
A picture of Chamberlain Harris (right) alongside President Donald Trump (left) from her Instagram account. Harris was described by White House Communications Director as ‘loyal, trusted and highly respected’ when asked about her qualifications for the job
The architectural firm Shalom Baranes Associates submitted presentations to both the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission ahead of the groups next meetings that show the massive size of the White House ballroom addition (left)
The White House ballroom juts out onto the South Lawn much further than the demolished East Wing and appears to be about three times the size of the current West Wing. A presentation on the ballroom is expected as part of the CFA’s Zoom-only meeting on Thursday
At the first NCPC meeting to discuss the ballroom, protesters from Common Cause gathered outside the group’s Washington headquarters. The sole voice of dissent inside came from Phil Mendelson, an NCPC member and chairman of the D.C. City Council.
‘I’m concerned about the significant overwhelming of the original historic building,’ he said.
Shalom Baranes Associates will present similar ballroom plans at Thursday’s CFA meeting and at the NCPC’s March 5 gathering. Both show a structure as tall as the White House residence, with a footprint three times larger than the current West Wing.
The source familiar with the CFA doubts the project will face serious resistance from either oversight body.
‘They’re all loyalists,’ the source said. ‘They’re not going to pick a fight with Trump.’
