Raskin Introduces Legislation to Preserve the People’s White House, Require Public Input for Trump’s Marie Antoinette Ballroom

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) introduced legislation to protect the historic character of the White House, requiring a public review process for renovations to the building. The People's White House Historic Preservation Act follows President Donald Trump's demolition of the East Wing to build a massive ballroom funded by corporations and wealthy donors.

"Americans watched in horror as President Trump reduced the East Wing of the White House to a pile of rubble to pave the way for his self-appointed Marie Antoinette ballroom," said Rep. Raskin. "My legislation returns power to the American people to protect the house we built for our presidents. The White House belongs to all of us-not to one lawless president building a ballroom funded by tech oligarchs and his fellow plutocrats."

This bill would remove the White House's statutory exemption from the National Historic Preservation Act's Section 106 review process, requiring the President to submit any proposed White House renovation for formal review and public comment as the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal building construction, and the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews designs for federal buildings, before breaking ground.

If stakeholders identify potentially adverse effects to changes to the historic property, the parties would need to agree on a resolution and record it through a Memorandum of Agreement or Programmatic Agreement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the proposal would then be brought to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to determine if the project can move forward.

Past presidents have voluntarily submitted their White House renovation plans for public review as "best practice," even if the building is technically exempt. Yet President Trump has still not submitted any of his plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, where he installed three of his own White House officials.

On October 30, 2025, Trump fired each of the Commissioners on the Commission of Fine Arts. The President has demonstrated that he has no intention to follow the Section 106 public review process, and in fact is fast-tracking construction even as multiple historic preservation groups voice their concerns about the project.

Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit to block the ballroom's construction.

This legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Andre Carson (IN-07), Troy Carter (LA-02), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Danny Davis (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Steny Hoyer (MD-05), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Dave Min (CA-47), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mark Takano (CA-39), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Jared Huffman (CA-02)

Read the full text of the bill here.

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Permalink: https://raskin.house.gov/2025/12/raskin-introduces-legislation-to-preserve-the-people-s-white-house-require-public-input-for-trump-s-marie-antoinette-ballroom