Trump ordered to stop construction on his glitzy White House ballroom
President Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project was temporarily halted by a federal judge on Tuesday.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration after the demolition of the East Wing of the White House last fall.
The watchdog group last argued in court that Trump needed Congressional approval before making such major changes at the White House.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote in his decision that no law “comes close” to authorizing the President to undertake the project without Congressional oversight.
‘The President of the United States is the guardian of the White House for the next generation of First Families. But he is not the owner!’ Leon wrote.
Amid the legal battle, Leon approved the Foundation’s request to halt work on the ballroom project.
He gave a two-week window to implement his order and said construction could continue on parts of the project related to White House security.
‘It is not too late for Congress to authorize continued construction of the ballroom project,’ he wrote. ‘The President may go to Congress at any time to obtain express authority to build a ballroom and to do so with private funds.’
President Donald Trump holds up a view of the ballroom he proposed to during a tour of Air Force One on Sunday
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump administration in December after the East Wing of the White House was demolished with zero oversight
The judge, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, has previously said he believes his decision will be appealed and the case could go to the Supreme Court.
The president responded to the news Tuesday with an angry Truth Social post.
Tagged National Trust in For Historic Preservation ‘Radical Left Crazy Group’.
He later lamented that the takeover of the White House ballroom and the Kennedy Center had been the subject of lawsuits, but not the renovation of the Federal Reserve headquarters or California Governor Gavin Newsom’s ‘RAILWAY TO NOWHERE’.
“The White House Ballroom and the Trump Kennedy Center, which are under budget, ahead of schedule, and will be among the most magnificent Buildings of their kind anywhere in the world, are being sued by a group that was cut off by the Government years ago, but all of our Country’s many DISASTER are left to die,” Trump said. ‘It doesn’t make much sense, does it?’
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a Congressionally chartered agency funded by the federal government for 30 years following passage of the National Historic Preservation Act.
He now survives on private donations.
The group released a statement and welcomed Leon’s decision.
President Donald Trump had the East Wing demolished in October to make room for the 90,000-square-foot ballroom
The construction site for the new ballroom was photographed from the Washington Monument earlier this month
Workers can be seen working on the site of the former White House East Wing, which was demolished in October to make way for President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom.
“We are pleased with Judge Leon’s decision to halt ballroom construction until the Administration complies with the law and receives express permission to proceed,” said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
‘This is a win for the American people in a project that will forever impact one of our nation’s most beloved and iconic places,’ he added.
The foundation sued the Trump administration in December after the East Wing was already reduced to rubble.
The demolition came as a shock to many, as neither Trump nor White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was transparent about the plans.
Before the ballroom project began, Trump appointed Chief of Staff Will Scharf to head the National Capital Planning Commission, one of two panels that authorize federal construction projects in the region.
Scharf said the NCPC did not oversee the demolitions and allowed the demolition of the East Wing to go unchallenged.
The foundation pushed the Trump administration to go through traditional review processes used for such projects.
But Trump had convened the other review group, the NCPC and the Fine Arts Commission, with his aides and allies.
A rendering of what President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom would look like. There have been a number of design changes since the original designs were shared.
The White House’s ballroom addition extends far beyond the South Lawn. Both architects and average Americans were concerned about the ballroom’s massive size
President Donald Trump showed off the latest renderings of the White House ballroom aboard Air Force One on Sunday
In February, the Fine Arts Commission, which included the President’s 26-year-old executive assistant, expedited approval of the ballroom without reviewing the final design.
On Thursday, the NCPC is expected to do the same at the group’s meeting in April.
In March, dozens of experts and citizens testified to NCPC commissioners via Zoom about the project.
In hours of testimony, only one person spoke positively about this issue.
Architects, preservationists and average Americans called it ‘ugly’ and complained about its enormous size.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the White House would handle the judge’s ruling: appeal or take the project to Capitol Hill and try to win Congressional approval.
A White House spokesman did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on what happens next.
