Although President Trump has plenty on his plate these days, he always seems to find the time to discuss a favorite topic: his plan to build a big, beautiful ballroom next to the White House, using only private funds. Flying back to Washington on Air Force One Sunday night, the president showed off the latest renderings for the project.
“I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this … I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump told reporters. “But this is very important, because this is going to be with us for a long time, and it’s going to be, I think it will be the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”
Not everyone agrees with Trump’s assessment or appreciates his demolition of the East Wing to clear space for the ballroom, and in December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to halt the project. On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered construction on the $400 million building to stop, ruling that “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have” to build the structure.
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families,” U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon wrote in his memorandum opinion. “He is not, however, the owner!”
Leon ruled that the president needs permission from Congress to undertake the project, as required by federal law, and that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to prevail in its case.
“Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!” Leon wrote. “The President may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds. Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballroom, or at least decide that some other funding scheme is acceptable.”
The judge delayed implementation of the ruling for 14 days for logistical reasons and to allow time for a likely appeal. But he warned that any above-ground construction that occurs could be at risk of removal depending on the outcome of the case.
Further complicating matters, Trump said Sunday that the military is building a “massive complex” underneath the ballroom. It’s not clear where the funding for that project is coming from.
Trump took aim at the lawsuit on his social media platform Tuesday. Calling the National Trust for Historic Preservation “a Radical Left Group of Lunatics,” Trump criticized their attempt to prevent the construction of “the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World.”