Panel reviewing Trump’s $400m White House ballroom postpones vote

National Capital Planning Commission cites ‘large amount of public input’, with a majority opposing the plan

A federal panel reviewing Donald Trump’s planned $400m ballroom addition to the White House postponed an expected vote on the project until next month, after receiving thousands of negative public comments.

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) had been expected to cast a final vote on the proposal on Thursday, but instead, the chair of the commission announced at the beginning of the meeting that the vote would now be held on 2 April, citing the “large amount of public input” submitted during the public comment period.

“We’re going to take the time to deliberate, and we’re going to have a final vote on April 2,” Will Scharf, the NCPC chair and top aide to Trump, said on Thursday as the meeting began, according to CNN.