WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Tuesday 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.<\/p>\n
US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group\u2019s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump\u2019s White House ballroom project.<\/p>\n
The White House quickly filed a notice to appeal while Trump fumed at the ruling. \u201cWe built many things at the White House over the years. They don\u2019t get congressional approval,\u201d he told reporters in the Oval Office a short time later:<\/p>\n
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 \u201cno statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!\u201d the judge wrote at the beginning of his opinion.<\/p>\n
The ruling was the first major rebuke of Trump\u2019s sweeping efforts to overhaul the White House. But it wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Trump has said the ballroom will be paid for by private donors \u2014 even though the White House has only released a partial list of the companies and individuals offering funding and not said how much each is giving. The president said in response to Leon\u2019s ruling, \u201cThis is being financed privately. It\u2019s a donation\u201d and argued that meant the project was exempt from congressional approval.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The judge\u2019s 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\u2019s ruling does not affect the schedule for Thursday.<\/p>\n
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed the lawsuit, that prompted Leon\u2019s ruling, said, \u201cWe are pleased with Judge Leon\u2019s ruling today to order a halt to any further ballroom construction until the Administration complies with the law and obtains express authorization to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201dThis is a win for the American people on a project that forever impacts one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
The judge suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days, acknowledging that the case \u201craises novel and weighty issues, that halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues.\u201d He also recognized that the administration would appeal his decision.<\/p>\n
Leon ruled that any construction work that\u2019s 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\u2019t jeopardize national security.<\/p>\n
Trump brought out handwritten notes that referenced that part of the ruling, saying, \u201cIt talks about we\u2019re allowed to continue building.\u201d<\/p>\n
The White House announced the ballroom project over the summer. By late October, Trump had demolished the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that he said would fit 999 people. The White House said private donations, including from Trump himself, would pay for the planned construction of a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 26, Leon rejected the preservationist group\u2019s initial bid to temporarily halt the ballroom\u2019s construction. He said the privately funded group had based its challenge on a \u201cragtag group\u201d of legal theories and would have a better chance of success if it amended the lawsuit, which it did.<\/p>\n
The administration has said above-ground construction on the ballroom would begin in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are two weeks away,\u201d plaintiffs\u2019 attorney Thaddeus Heuer said during a March 17 hearing. \u201cThe imminence is now imminent.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Leon sounded skeptical of what he referred to as the government\u2019s \u201cshifting theories and shifting dynamics\u201d for its arguments in the case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a new theory,\u201d Justice Department attorney Jacob Roth told the judge.<\/p>\n
Leon expressed frustration at Roth\u2019s attempts to equate the massive ballroom project with relatively modest construction work at the White House under previous administrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an iconic symbol of this nation,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n
The administration argued that other presidents didn\u2019t need congressional approval for previous White House renovation projects, large and small.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of those projects were highly controversial in their time yet have since become accepted \u2014 even beloved \u2014 parts of the White House,\u201d government attorneys wrote.<\/p>\n
Leon rejected the administration\u2019s claim that Congress gave the president virtually unilateral authority to construct anything on federal land in Washington, regardless of the funding source.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis clearly is not how Congress and former Presidents have managed the White House for centuries, and this Court will not be the first to hold that Congress has ceded its powers in such a significant fashion!\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n
Since returning to the White House, Trump has frequently boasted about leaving a lasting mark on the building and the presidency \u2014 a push that the injunction against him can slow but won\u2019t entirely stop.<\/p>\n
His extensive White House makeover efforts have already included building a patio space alongside the Rose Garden, erecting towering flagpoles on the North and South Lawns, renovating the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom and the Palm Room, and adding gold flourishes to the Oval Office and the outside colonnade.<\/p>\n
The president also wants to build a ceremonial arch near the Lincoln Memorial, overhaul several Washington-area golf courses and is leading a push to revamp the Kennedy Center that is forcing the nation\u2019s capital\u2019s premier center for the performing arts to close for two years this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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