The Zoom-only hearing on the White House ballroom project got ugly - with the design being called just that and the chair of the committee lobbing lawsuit threats.

The National Capital Planning Commission, one of the two panels that need to approve the redesigned ballroom, held a virtual hearing on Thursday.

The online format didn't prevent a small group of protesters from gathering outside the NCPC's DC headquarters. 

And the meeting still got testy after Jon Golinger, representing the Ralph Nader-founded group Public Citizen, charged that the three White House aides serving on the planning board weren't qualified to be there. 

Golinger pointed a finger at NCPC Chairman Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary, as well as aides James Blair and Stuart Levenbach, who President Donald Trump appointed in July, ahead of the East Wing's controversial demolition. 

'That put them in a position to take the President's pet projects, ram them through and rubber-stamp them,' Golinger claimed. 

'Those appointments were not just a crude political power play, they were unlawful and they destroy the credibility of the vote on this project if those individuals vote for it,' he continued. 

Golinger called on Scharf, Blair and Levenbach to recuse themselves from the ballroom project vote - and resign from the NCPC 'so the President may find and appoint qualified citizen commissioners that the law requires.' 

'If they don't, it will be clear to all that the vote to approve the ballroom project fix was in,' Golinger said. 

Scharf shot back, arguing he was indeed qualified due to his time spent working for the governor of Missouri. 

'To say that I lack the credentials to serve on this commission is frankly insulting,' Scharf said. 

Golinger's mic was left on, allowing him to challenge Scharf's statement, pointing to campaign material from Scharf's unsuccessful run for Missouri Attorney General, which made no mention of 'planning experience.' 

'Mr. Golinger, your time's expired, I'm just going to say the fact that you would look at campaign literature and say that that is an extensive description, or a comprehensive description of my experience as policy director to the governor of a major state, that's frankly absurd,' Scharf said. 

'I think we're done here,' he added.

But Golinger wasn't done, suggesting Scharf's record still represented 'someone who's not qualified.' 

'Sir, if you want to sue me, I'll see you in court,' Scharf threatened. 

He then asked Blair and Levenbach if they wanted to speak to their credentials. 

Neither White House staffer piped up. 

Witness testimony stretched for about three and a half hours, with only one woman, a distillery owner named Tara Brown, viewing the project positively. 

Everyone else, from the head of groups like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the DC Preservation League, representatives from the Society of Architectural Historians, architectural history professors, and average citizens, all complained about the project's enormous size. 

'It's ugly. It's just ugly. It's too much,' Kye Rowan, who described herself as an 'ordinary citizen,' said. 

'And I am grieving about the East Wing and how it was torn down,' she said, adding, 'I won't be able to show this to my grandkids when I take them to D.C. one day. This has just been a total shame.'

Jamilah Way, a planning attorney who said she was commenting as a member of the public, said, 'Every time I see the images of the White House as it currently sits, my stomach turns.' 

Two witnesses suggested that Trump simply build his ballroom underground.

'If President Trump wants his ballroom, he can have it like the Capitol Visitor Center, put it underground,' said witness Chris Brown. 'This solution preserves the integrity of White House grounds, while giving the President the space for entertaining he desires and he can have any size ballroom as long as it's underground.' 

'I'm sure the objection to this would be that it's too late to start over,' Brown added. 'But whose fault would that be?' 

Brown also likened the two large flags Trump had installed at the White House to those 'usually seen in used car lots.' 

And one duo from Caracas, Venezuela, pitched the committee on building a 'freedom dome' instead.  

The meeting ended with the NCPC commissioners tabling a vote on the ballroom project until its April 2 gathering. 

Commission staff then made clear that Thursday's meeting was the only opportunity for members of the public to have their voices heard.