Judge halts WH ballroom construction
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom it demolished the East Wing of the White House to make space for, barring work from proceeding without congressional approval.
US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts US President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.
The White House quickly filed a notice to appeal while Trump fumed at the ruling. “We built many things at the White House over the years. They don’t get congressional approval,” he told reporters in the Oval Office a short time later.
He also noted that the ruling will allow work on underground bunkers and other security measures around the White House grounds to continue — even though those will be paid for by taxpayers, not the private donors and Trump himself, that the president has promised will cover the cost of the ballroom.
Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W Bush, concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” the judge wrote at the beginning of his opinion. The ruling was the first major rebuke of Trump’s sweeping efforts to overhaul the White House. But it wasn’t immediately clear what it would mean for a sprawling project in which crews have long since torn down the East Wing, radically transforming the look and feel of the historic grounds.
The White House has only released a partial list of the companies and individuals donating to build the ballroom, and not said how much each is giving. Still, Trump rejected Leon’s ruling, saying, “This is being financed privately. It’s a donation.”
Biggest structural change to White House since Truman years: Construction of the ballroom would mark the most significant structural change to the White House since President Harry S Truman added a balcony on the south side of the mansion.
The judge’s decision came two days before the National Capital Planning Commission, the agency that signs off on construction on federal property in the Washington region, is expected to approve the addition. Stephen Staudigl, a spokesperson for the commission, said the judge’s ruling does not affect the schedule for Thursday.
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed the lawsuit prompting Leon’s ruling, said, “We are pleased with Judge Leon’s ruling today to order a halt to any further ballroom construction until the Administration complies with the law and obtains express authorisation to go forward.”
“This is a win for the American people on a project that forever impacts one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation,” Quillen said in a statement. The group had sued in hopes of obtaining an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receives congressional approval.
Halt order is paused for two weeks: The judge suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days, acknowledging that the case “raises novel and weighty issues, that halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues.” He also recognised that the administration would appeal his decision.
Leon ruled that any construction work that’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction. Leon said he reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn’t jeopardise national security.
Trump brought handwritten notes into the Oval Office that referenced that part of the ruling, saying, “It talks about we’re allowed to continue building.”
He then offered an exhaustive list of what’s being done to enhance security while the ballroom is built.
“The roof is drone-proof. We have secure air-handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air if you have bad people,” the president said. “We have bio-defense all over. We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we’re building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we’re building.”
He added, “Think of that for the safety of the president,” and said the ruling means “on that, we’re OK.”
The White House announced the ballroom project over the summer. By late October, Trump had demolished the East Wing for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom he said would fit 999 people.
Trump proceeded with the project before seeking input from the National Capital Planning Commission and another oversight entity, the Commission of Fine Arts. Trump has stocked both commissions with allies. The trust sued in December.
On February 26, Leon rejected the preservationist group’s initial bid to temporarily halt the ballroom’s construction. He said the privately funded group had based its challenge on a “ragtag group” of legal theories and would have a better chance of success if it amended the lawsuit, which it did.
The administration has said above-ground construction on the ballroom would begin in April.
“We are two weeks away,” plaintiffs’ attorney Thaddeus Heuer said during a March 17 hearing. “The imminence is now imminent.”
