Judge faults Trump for ‘brazen’ ballroom construction
A federal judge has again ruled that US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a ballroom at the White House without congressional approval is illegal, charging that the Republican president claimed national security requirements required the project to go forward.
In a 10-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon changed the text of the March 31 injunction ordering a halt to construction to respond to Trump and federal agencies’ “brazen” and “disingenuous” interpretation of the earlier order.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization appointed by Congress to help preserve historic buildings, has sued the administration, alleging Trump overstepped his authority by razing the historic White House East Wing last October and beginning construction of the planned 8,360-square-foot ballroom, which cost more than US$400 million ($A560 million) and was funded by corporate donors.
Leon said he clarified the scope of his previous order to halt “aboveground construction of the planned ballroom,” but that “underground construction of national security facilities” had not been halted.
The judge’s original order on March 31 said most of the work had to stop but crews could continue “construction necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House.”
Trump and federal agencies later argued in court filings that the judge’s national security exception applied to the entire project because of elements of the ballroom such as missile-resistant columns and a drone-resistant roof.
The Trump administration also argued that the ballroom and the military bunker planned to be built underneath are “a single, coherent whole.”
Leon wrote in Thursday’s order that Trump and federal agencies “are now seeking to reverse this exception and unreasonably insist that the entire ballroom project can proceed.”
“I cannot agree with this,” the judge wrote.
In a series of social media posts on Thursday, Trump called Leon a “highly political” and “out of control” judge.
Trump said the decision blocks future presidents’ access to “bomb shelters” and “State-of-the-Art Hospitals and Medical Facilities” and added, “This means that no President living in the White House without this Ballroom will be Safe and Secure at Events, Future Inaugurations, or Global Summits.”
Former Republican president George W Bush appointed Leon.
The Trump administration said in a court filing that it would appeal Thursday’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation had asked Leon to clarify the earlier injunction. Following Trump’s appeal, the D.C. Circuit last week ordered Leon to reconsider his scope, citing Trump’s national security arguments.
