Phil Mendelson

Taxpayers are paying more than a million dollars a day to have them walk around,

• Phil Mendelson, chairman of the District of Columbia Council, said in April,
  CNNcnn.com/2026/07…Jul 17, 00:41
  The Independentindependent.co.uk/news/donald…Jul 16, 22:01
  Newsmaxnewsmax.com/politics/national…Jul 17, 02:25

The issue to me is not whether there should be a ballroom,

• Mendelson said
  Politicopolitico.com/news/2026…Apr 2, 19:54

There’s a lot of value to the iterative process, and we’ve not had that,

• Mendelson said
  Politicopolitico.com/news/2026…Apr 2, 19:54

This is the People's House — this is not Donald Trump's, or Joe Biden's, or the next president's. I still don't understand why the ceiling height has to be 40 feet."

• Phil Mendelson, D.C. Council chairman and NCPC member
  Newsweeknewsweek.com/trumps/white…Mar 29, 18:56

What I’m concerned about is that so much has happened without any review, which I think is inappropriate, and that this is going to be fast-tracked with a lot of pressure to just approve what the White House wants without any planning thought,

• Mendelson said
  CNNcnn.com/2026/01…Jan 8, 11:01

It still seems to me that it’s overwhelming the existing building. … Maybe it can be, and needs to be shrunk a little more,

• Mendelson said
  CNNcnn.com/2026/01…Jan 8, 22:07