00:00Just two days after President Trump's 400 million dollar White House ballroom construction was put
00:04on ice by a federal judge, the National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve the big
00:09beautiful ballroom's design. The approval process was pretty snappy, according to critics who
00:14believe the NCPC rushed through it. The yes votes came despite a legally mandated public comment
00:20period where members of the public submit requests for changes in the plans. In this instance, there
00:25was a request to reduce the size of the structure. But Chairman Will Scharf, who is also a Trump
00:30administration staff secretary, defended the commission's work. He argues that the commission
00:34could have approved the project without any public input. Now, this development, the NCPC's approval,
00:41doesn't mean construction is going to immediately ramp up again. It is no bearing on the ruling of
00:45Judge Richard Leon this week, which stopped construction pending congressional approval.
00:49This is part of the process that just concerns the planning. Now, that said, Scharf said ahead of
00:56Thursday's vote that the judge's order was stayed for two weeks pending an appeal by the administration.
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