Trump Appoints His 26-Year-Old Ex-Receptionist to Commission Overseeing White House Ballroom Construction

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

President Donald Trump has appointed his 26-year-old receptionist to the arts commission tasked with overseeing the construction of his White House ballroom.

On Thursday, Chamblerlain Harris is set to be sworn in to the Commission of Fine Arts. Historically, the commission has been responsible for advising major design projects carried out by the presidential administration. Harris, The Washington Post noted in a Tuesday report, does not possess the art expertise that traditionally comes with commission appointees. The 26-year-old, however, has been in Trump’s circle since his first term, when she was an executive assistant. She continued working under Trump after he left office, and now serves as the deputy director of Oval Office operations.

Despite a lack of formal experience in the field, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told The Washington Post in a statement that Harris “understands the President’s vision and appreciation of the arts like very few others, and brings a unique perspective that will serve the Commission well.” The White House also praised her as a “loyal, trusted, and highly respected advisor” to Trump.

Those who have previously served on the commission were not as enthusiastic. The report continued:

“It’s disastrous,” said Alex Krieger, an architect and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, who was chosen for the commission in 2012 by President Barack Obama and served a second term in the first Trump administration. “Some of these people just have no qualifications to evaluate matters of design, architecture, or urban planning.”

Past commissioners have included Billie Tsien, an architect currently working on Obama’s library, and Perry Guillot, a landscape architect who redesigned the White House Rose Garden during Trump’s first term.

Witold Rybczynski, an architect who was chosen for the Commission of Fine Arts by President George W. Bush and served a second term under Obama, wrote in an email that President Joe Biden also reshaped the panel by firing Trump appointees before their terms had concluded. He also noted that past presidents installed some political appointees and lesser-known experts to the panel, too.

“The degree of expertise … has varied,” Rybczynski wrote in an email.

Harris will be sworn in on the same day the commission could hold a vote to determine if the ballroom project can be advanced. The president controversially had the entire East Wing of the White House demolished, prompting the National Trust for Historic Preservation to step in and try to block the project.

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