Trump’s ballroom commissioner leads US delegation to ‘Russia’s Davos’

The U.S. official overseeing President Trump’s controversial White House ballroom project led an official delegation to Russia’s premier economic forum, underscoring the president’s outreach to Moscow as Russian President Vladimir Putin escalates the war against Ukraine. 

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., who serves as chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), dubbed the Russian “Davos,” which kicked off on Wednesday and runs through Saturday. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, told senators on Wednesday that he was not aware of the delegation. 

“I’m aware of the event. I know they were hosting one, but I don’t think it would have been a high-level official,” he said in response to questions about why the U.S. sent a delegation.

Cook told Russian media in May that both the SPIEF organizing committee and the State Department cleared his participation, according to The Moscow Times.

The Hill reached out to the State Department for comment. 

The forum is expected to bring together 20,000 people and highlighted participants........

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