A federal judge cleared President Donald Trump’s ballroom construction for the time being.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled against the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit to halt its construction on procedural grounds, not its merits. He argued that the plaintiffs had wrongly invoked the Administrative Procedure Act, as the law only applies to agencies, with the White House not being an agency. He invited the plaintiffs to amend their lawsuit, something they agreed to do.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION
“If Plaintiff is inclined to amend its complaint … the Court will expeditiously consider it and, if viable, address the merits of the novel and weighty issues presented,” Leon wrote.
The plaintiffs are likely to shift their focus to allegations of a quid pro quo agreement with donors such as Amazon, Google, and Palantir, as well as arguments that Trump exceeded his authority in renovating the White House without congressional approval.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that their funding approach is legal, pointing to a mechanism approved by Congress for White House repairs.
“This is not a circumvention of the appropriations process—it is a funding mechanism that Congress knowingly authorized and has long been aware is available to support projects on White House grounds,” they wrote in a Feb. 2 filing.
The same filing also argued that any pause in construction, after the destruction of the old facade but well before completion, would pose a national security threat due to dangers posed to the president.
The plaintiffs have particularly taken issue with the funding mechanism, calling it a “Rube Goldberg machine” to justify proceeding without congressional approval.
Though the DOJ won this round over procedural concerns, its fortunes could take a turn for the worse in the next. Leon openly voiced skepticism of the defendants’ arguments, and his recommendations of what the plaintiffs should focus on suggest favorable decisions in the future.
The National Capital Planning Commission, filled with Trump allies, is set to review the ballroom in March.
Trump announced the 90,000-square-foot ballroom, one of the most ambitious construction projects of his second term, in late July. It was originally slated to cost roughly $200 million but has since ballooned to between roughly $250 million and $300 million. The White House website says it will be entirely funded by Trump and “other patriot donors.”
Trump’s critics have lambasted the renovations as a vanity project and frequently lean into the destruction of the old East Wing as a wider metaphor for his presidency.
FINE ARTS PANEL APPROVES TRUMP’S BALLROOM
“I knew Trump was going to taking a wrecking ball to the country, but I had no idea, I have to admit, I didn’t know there was going to be an actual wrecking ball,” former President Joe Biden said in a November speech, referring to Trump’s destruction of the East Wing to construct a new ballroom.
“It’s a perfect symbol of his presidency,” Biden continued. “Trump has taken a wrecking ball not only to the people’s house but to the Constitution, to the rule of law, to our very democracy.”