Social media lit up Friday after reports that Donald Trump installed a group of loyalists to a federal review panel set to take up his controversial White House ballroom project – a move critics slammed as an attempt by the president to two-step around the approval process.
The online backlash erupted after reports emerged that Trump appointed four allies to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, an independent agency charged by Congress with advising the president on major design projects on Capitol Hill. The commission is scheduled to review the ballroom proposal next week, even as construction has already begun on underground elements of the project, the Washington Post reported.
While Trump has repeatedly touted his beloved project as “under budget and ahead of schedule,” critics on social media had a different reaction to the panel shake-up.
“Big surprise,” Alaska author and historian Jane Haigh posted on X.
“Rigged?” Peter Elkind, a ProPublica investigative journalist, wrote on social media.
“WHAT’S the POINT?!? Just rubber stamp it,” X user @bkaydw posted.
“NOBODY gives a s**t about his overpriced ballroom,” another X user, J. Canfield, told their followers. “More pressing issues, like getting @ICEgov to turn down the heat should be addressed. Not his stupid ballroom.”
“Because after all, it’s HIS ballroom,” X user James Stillwell wrote.
Rigged? Trump Appoints Allies to Review His Ballroom Plans https://t.co/EOH5Jqdv8Q — Peter Elkind (@peterelkind) January 16, 2026
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