President Trump’s White House pulled the plug on the entrenched art bureaucrats this week, abruptly terminating six members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts effective October 29, 2025 — an action that should make every patriot cheer. The move was announced by email from the presidential personnel office and represents a long-overdue reassertion of presidential authority over how our capital and national symbols are designed and displayed.
The commissioners removed included nationally recognized architects and designers who had been appointed during the previous administration and who served on a commission that has been largely advisory since its creation in 1910. For too long these self-styled gatekeepers have treated Washington like a museum of left-wing preferences rather than a living capital that should reflect the nation’s pride and history.
White House officials made no secret of the motive: they plan to appoint a new slate of members more aligned with President Trump’s America First vision as the administration eyes ambitious projects like a new White House ballroom and a triumphal arch to celebrate our republic. If the political left thinks art is above politics, they are discovering the hard way that patriotic priorities matter more to ordinary Americans than the aesthetic preferences of elite critics.
Critics already screech about “politicizing” fine arts, which is amusing coming from a crowd that has been weaponizing culture for decades. What they call politicization, hardworking Americans call accountability — and if your review board repeatedly blocks projects that honor American greatness, it’s reasonable to replace them. This administration is simply replacing appointees who act like architects for a coastal court of opinion with commissioners who will prioritize the people’s monuments and the people’s capital.
Let the lawsuits come; the swamp’s favorite tactic of suing to slow everything down won’t stop a president who has repeatedly won in court and at the ballot box by standing up to the administrative state. Meanwhile, taxpayers and donors who want to fund patriotic projects shouldn’t be held hostage by unelected elites who sneer at national pride while lecturing the rest of the country. America deserves monuments that celebrate our history, not permission slips from an aesthetic priesthood.
This was a bold, unapologetic step toward returning power to the people’s representatives and getting big, bold projects done for the 250th anniversary of the Republic. Every American who’s tired of virtue-signaling elites should applaud this clean house and demand that future commissioners actually reflect the values of the nation they serve. The choice is simple: keep letting artistic elites dictate our capital’s future, or let Americans decide what honors their history and heroes.
