President Biden just sent several more Trump appointees packing
While bumbling through his presidency, Donald Trump was unusually obsessed with pulling America backward. Trump aimed for the 1950s with social issues, and the Middle Ages seemed to be his exemplar for scientific thought and advancement. However, when it came to government architecture, it’s surprising Trump didn’t dislocate his shoulder as he reached all the way back to antiquity.
In late December, Trump issued an executive order to promote neoclassical architecture as the official style for Washington, DC federal buildings and federal courthouses across the United States. Despite his bluster, a couple of weeks later, Trump unleashed an insurrectionist mob to storm and desecrate the U.S. Capitol, which stands as a shining example of the architecture he supposedly wanted to protect.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) promptly slammed Trump for sticking his tiny fingers where they don’t belong, imposing needless artistic restrictions on society. “Communities should have the right and responsibility to decide for themselves what architectural design best fits their needs,” the AIA said in a statement. “[W]e look forward to working with President-Elect Biden to ensure that.”
Sure enough, President Biden issued an executive order in late February revoking a handful of Trump’s flawed orders, including the one Trump proudly titled, “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture.” One issue remained, however. The day before Biden’s inauguration, Trump hurriedly appointed four more people to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews design proposals for properties in DC, leaving Biden with a body comprised of seven Trump-appointed white men.
On Tuesday, Biden sent those four new Commission members packing, announcing he’s replacing them with people who bring “a diversity of background and experience, as well as a range of aesthetic viewpoints.” While the other three members remain, the four new Biden appointees have the majority, which means they will choose a new chairperson and direction for the Commission in June, according to a report from The Washington Post.
Trump aimed to steer American architecture in a way that would stifle expression and impede our nation’s progress, creativity, and diversity. Fortunately, even as he tackles a pandemic, racial injustice, and a host of other pressing issues created or exacerbated by his predecessor, Biden has been tirelessly working to reverse Trump’s smaller ignominies such as this architecture fiasco. Biden’s decisive action this week hammers the final nail in this uniquely Trumpian coffin.
Ron Leshnower is a lawyer and the author of several books, including President Trump’s Month