Overview
- Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chair of the Commission of Fine Arts, publicly suggested swapping the North Portico’s Ionic columns for Corinthian ones.
- Cook said he has not discussed the idea with President Trump, and a White House spokesperson said there are no plans to alter the columns.
- Architects and preservationists criticized the concept as incompatible with James Hoban’s design for the 19th-century portico.
- Reporting says Trump has mused privately about Corinthian columns, while the separate $400 million ballroom project uses that style and has drawn a National Trust lawsuit.
- The ballroom won Commission of Fine Arts approval last month, with plans submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission for review.