Note: The official resolution text and meeting minutes have not yet been published; this account will be updated accordingly when they are.
If you care about this issue — and I bet you do — now is the time to get involved. More on exactly what that looks like, soon.
I miss sitting on the porch in the morning, having a cup of coffee while reading an Ashley Parker story in the Post (she's now at The Atlantic). I happened to catch her on a panel earlier this week, and she said something that just clicked. I've likely heard it many times before — but for whatever reason, this time it summed everything up.
Trump's superpower, she said, is his shamelessness. More on that another time — but I bring it up here because what I saw at Thursday's meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission was high-level shamelessness. I mean really A-game stuff from Trump sycophants.
The Players
Here are the three Trump appointees to the Commission, including the Chairman and Vice Chairman. Check out the titles — two of the three are tippy-top White House personnel; the third sits at the ever-scary OMB. By statute, the three presidential appointees to the Commission are required to have experience in city or regional planning. Trust me: these guys do not — not in any sense of the word that matters. Hey, maybe that explains why, a year into their tenure, the NCPC website bios for all three are still "forthcoming."
Commissioner Blair's shameless star turn actually came at the June meeting. Of the thirty-or-so in-person speakers, maybe three or four could be classified as occasional hecklers, and one or two used naughty words like "authoritarianism." Here's what he had to say about it:
"I think the personal attacks do a disservice to this process, and really just one commenter in particular. So, I guess I will give credit to those who have kept the discussion about the merits of the project and whether or not they like the design, and otherwise, I don't see how personal attacks are warranted or even helpful to this discussion…. And again, thank you to the members — those opposed to the project who have at least kept their comments reasoned and about the subject matter at hand. I think that is the American way, and I commend you for keeping it that way."
This guy serves — proudly, I assume — Donald Trump, who spends his days launching personal attacks. The irony and shamelessness of him lecturing anyone is almost more than I can stand.
Man of the Match
Perhaps the cutest performance of Thursday's meeting came from Paul Ingrassia. Somehow he's on the Commission — technically as an alternate for the Administrator of General Services, where he is apparently, somehow, gainfully employed.
You may remember Ingrassia as the guy whose nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel was pulled after Politico reported a whole bunch of bad behavior. (You might simply remember him as the "I have a Nazi streak" guy.)
At the meeting, he spun a sweet little yarn about how he thinks there's a ton of support for the arch out in America. He even authoritatively cited the millions of Americans enjoying the State Fair bullshit on the Mall, and proudly noted that the fake arch was one of the most popular sights to see.
The Substance of the Day
Scharf, however, takes the shameless cake with Thursday's maneuvers. (He basically opened the meeting by noting he'd just gotten back into the country at 2 a.m. — a reminder that he's so close to Trump he was on the NATO trip. He probably would have slept better if the lot had been able to fly back on that sweet Qatari Air Force One, but alas, something's gone wrong with that project too.)
The Commission's General Counsel, in a memorandum in the meeting record, concluded that the Height of Buildings Act (the Height Act, or HBA) applies to federal projects and that NCPC has applied it that way — in her words, as "a key limiting principle since at least 1938."
The Commission's Executive Director's Recommendation (EDR), published in draft form ahead of the meeting, found the project inconsistent with the Height Act — the law that has kept Washington's skyline low for more than a century. The EDR therefore proposed a substantial redesign, presenting the Trump-run Department of the Interior / National Park Service with a compliance path: basically, instructions for how to get the thing built in compliance with the Act.
Unimpressed, Scharf announced that Interior had submitted a memo he found compelling — one he believed clearly established that the Height Act did not apply to federal buildings.
From the dais, Scharf introduced an amended resolution: approve the preliminary plans now — the very plans the EDR had determined violate the Height Act — note the Commission's view that the Height Act may not apply, and decide the legal question later, at final review.
So the Commission approved preliminary site and building plans for the proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch at Memorial Circle. The vote was 8 in favor, 1 opposed — the representative of D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson — with three D.C. representative-members voting "present."
Why It's So Shameless
The ripple effects could be really bad. If the Height Act doesn't apply to federal buildings, then guess who's likely in charge of controlling the height of buildings on federal property? The NCPC. Don't worry, though — Scharf said words to the effect of: hey, don't worry about any kind of slippery slope; as long as I'm Chairman, skyscrapers won't be going up in DC or on federal land. He's willing to risk anything to do what Trump has told him to do: get it built the way I want it built.
The other bottomless pit of shamelessness is anybody who votes for this thing — in light not only of the applicable laws and guidelines, but of the public response and input. Thousands of public comments were filed, overwhelmingly in opposition. The remarks of Gold Star families, veterans, and others about the impact on Arlington National Cemetery alone should carry the day. But then again, these are the folks who pledge unyielding support for law enforcement and then back a guy who pardoned the January 6 rioters.
What Comes Next
Final review at NCPC. The preliminary approval does not authorize construction. The project must return for final approval — and the Chairman's own resolution schedules the Height Act question to be "debated and decided" then. That means the legal fight the Commission postponed is now on its own future agenda, with the staff finding, the General Counsel's memo, and the public record all still in the file.
The Record & My Comments
- My written statement for the record — NCPC File 8778 (PDF)
- My oral comment, delivered at the July 9 meeting (PDF)
- NCPC review archive — the public comments can be accessed here.