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Lawyers for the Trump administration and a historic preservation group are slated to appear in court Tuesday afternoon in a bid to halt — at least temporarily — President Donald Trump’s plan to continue building out a $300 million White House ballroom on the site of the now-demolished East Wing.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the National Trust said in its lawsuit, filed late last week with U.S. District Judge Richard Leon.
The group argued that Trump’s project has already caused “irreversible damage” to the White House, and asked Leon to grant both a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration from commencing or continuing further work on the ballroom project until the necessary federal commissions have reviewed and approved the plans.
The suit alleges violations of multiple statutes, including the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and says the ballroom cannot move forward without authorization from Congress, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. Trump fired all six members of the CFA in October; the panel remains vacant.
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Meanwhile, lawyers for the Justice Department argued in a separate filing on Monday that Trump does have the statutory authority to modify the structure as president.
“The President possesses statutory authority to modify the structure of his residence, and that authority is supported by background principles of Executive power,” the Justice Department told the court on Monday in a separate filing.
They cited Trump’s personal involvement in the project, and noted that he has regularly taken part in meetings and discussions “regarding design and footprint and personally selecting the architect for the project,” among other things.
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Lawyers for the Trump administration also argued that abruptly halting construction on the project would create “security concerns” at the White House, an argument it is expected to seize on further during Tuesday afternoon’s hearing.
They also included a declaration from Secret Service deputy director Matthew Quinn that said improvements to the site “are still needed before the Secret Service’s safety and security requirements can be met.”
“Any pause in construction, even temporarily, would leave the contractor’s obligation unfulfilled in this regard and consequently hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission.”
Trump in July first announced his plans to proceed with constructing the sprawling, 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which he estimated at the time would cost around $200 million. Trump has insisted it will be funded “100% by me and some friends of mine.”
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