Rodney Mims Cook, Jr.

Rodney Mims Cook Jr. (born June 30, 1956) is an American designer who has been the chair of the United States Commission of Fine Arts since January 2026. He has been a member of the Commission of Fine Arts from 2021 to 2022, and since January 2026. He was nominated to the commission by President Donald Trump. Cook has been a persistent advocate for building arches in Washington D.C.

Early life and education Rodney Mims Cook Jr. was born on June 30, 1956, at Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the son of Bettijo Cook (née Hogan, later Trawick, 1926–2023) and Rodney Mims Cook Sr. (1924–2013). The elder Cook was a member of the Atlanta Board of Aldermen and the Georgia House of Representatives. The younger Cook was raised in Buckhead. In his youth, Cook assisted his father in his political campaigns. He attended William Franklin Dykes High School; the school closed in 1973, when Cook was a junior. He was the junior class president. Cook studied engineering at Washington and Lee University. The effort caught the attention of Charles, Prince of Wales, who visited Atlanta in 1977 and sought to meet Cook. The two developed a friendship after their encounter.

Career Cook establish his first architecture firm in 1983. First focus on making "pretty houses for rich people" he made a determination to look at public places. He had a long career in Georgia focused on its history and his families history. Once commented that we are remember as much for the buildings we destroy as those we build, a strange quote for a man working for President Trump, now famous for destruction of the Historical East Wing. 2003, Cook established the National Monuments Foundation.

In January 2021, president Donald Trump appointed Cook to the United States Commission of Fine Arts. Cook served as its vice chair. In April 2022, the Biden administration requested Cook's resignation. He was succeeded by Lisa Delplace.

In January 2026, The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration was set to request that former members of the Commission of Fine Arts who had been appointed by Trump in his first term return to the commission. On January 20, Trump appointed Cook to the commission. He was voted the chairman on January 22.

In June 2026, Cook led a delegation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The American delegation—which included political commentator Candace Owens and actor Steven Seagal, both of whom have voiced support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine—was the first in nearly a decade to participate in the forum.