NEW: Trump’s Ballroom Greenlit By Capital Planning Commission Despite Judge’s Ruling

President Trump’s long-planned White House ballroom makeover cleared a key design hurdle Thursday, even as a federal judge’s order continues to keep construction shut down.

The National Capital Planning Commission signed off on Trump’s fast-tracked, $400 million ballroom plan after a monthlong delay fueled by a flood of criticism, including roughly 9,000 pages of public comments that pushed the vote back. The commission’s approval does not restart work on the site, but it removes one of the last procedural roadblocks the project needed to clear.

Commissioners defended architect Shalom Baranes and brushed aside complaints that the new structure would overpower the historic White House footprint. Officials also pointed to late-stage tweaks to tone down parts of the design. Outdoor staircases were reduced, “reducing the footprint of the ballroom,” NCPC chair Will Scharf said during the meeting.

Scharf, a top White House official, argued the project will ultimately be embraced alongside the iconic building it attaches to, saying he believes the ballroom will be “every bit as much of a national treasure” as the rest of the White House.

Not everyone bought it.

Phil Mendelson, who sits on the commission through his role as D.C. Council chair, cast the lone no vote and criticized both the scale and the speed of the process. The ballroom’s height, he said, would rise roughly as tall as the White House itself.

“It’s just too large,” Mendelson said, slamming what he called a “rushed process.” He argued a better ballroom for roughly 1,000 people could have been designed.

RELATED: NEW: Group Sues Trump Admin In Bid To Stop Ballroom Construction

The vote comes days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered construction halted, saying Trump is not the “owner” of the White House and ruling that work “must stop until Congress authorizes its completion.” Leon’s decision followed a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued the project should not move forward without proper approvals.

Trump added fresh intrigue to the ballroom fight earlier this week when he disclosed that the military is building an underground component beneath the future space, describing it as “a massive complex.”

“The subterranean programmatic needs are serious and unmovable,” Scharf said, tying the underground work to “national security” and noting that Franklin D. Roosevelt once built an emergency bunker under the East Wing.

RELATED: NEW: Trump Reveals Top Secret Room Being Built Under Ballroom

With the commission’s green light now secured, the administration is expected to lean on Thursday’s approval as it presses in court to lift the stop-work order. Leon has suggested the dispute could ultimately land at the Supreme Court.

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