RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Topline A U.S. federal appeals court blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from continuing construction of his ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House—likely kicking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court ruled 2-1 to uphold an preliminary injunction requested by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argues the Trump administration unlawfully began construction of the ballroom without congressional approval.
The Trump administration has 14 days to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court said Congress must approve the ballroom, writing “this ruling does not even necessarily mean that Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom. What it does mean is that Defendants may not do so during the court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization, as the Constitution and laws require.”
The decision upholds an April ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a nominee of former President George W. Bush.
The two appeals court judges who upheld the decision, Judges Patricia Millet and Bradley Garcia, were nominated by former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, respectively, while the opposing judge, Neomi Rao, was nominated by Trump.
Trump’s ballroom project—and other renovations to the Capitol and surrounding government properties—has been a fixation for the president during his second term.
In addition to the ballroom, Trump is building a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House. Several other of Trump’s Capitol renovation projects have been subject to court challenges, including his troubled renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and his proposed 250-foot arch near Arlington National Cemetery.
The Trump administration has continued with construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom amid the court battle, as Leon’s April ruling was put on hold as the appeals process played out. Trump has claimed the project is a necessary security upgrade for the White House and has used the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in April to bolster his argument. Trump initially promised the ballroom would not be built using taxpayer dollars and that private donations would fund construction, though the cost of the project has soared to an estimated $600 million, up $400 million from Trump’s initial estimate, according to a recent Washington Post analysis that also found, according to internal contractor estimates, that taxpayers are projected to cover half of the cost. The Secret Service in June also transferred about $350 million last month to cover White House security upgrades, which the administration has acknowledged would be used, at least in part, to pay for construction of the underground bunker system below the ballroom.
Jackhammer Drives Into White House Helipad After Trump Reportedly Orders Changes (Forbes)
White House Fortifying Front Door Where Tarps Hang Amid Trump’s Construction Blitz (Forbes)
Trump’s Other ‘Vanity Projects’ Will Cost $162.5 Million—In Addition To $1.4 Billion Ballroom Possibly Funded By Taxpayers (Forbes)
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