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Trump Claims White House Ballroom Foes Revealed 'Top Military Secrets
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. President Donald Trump accused a historic preservation group challenging his White House ballroom project of revealing “top military secrets,” labeling its members “treasonists” as his administration took the dispute to the Supreme Court.
“These are the TREASONISTS that brought the suit against the Military Complex,” Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post, referring to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “They revealed Top Military Secrets!”
Trump did not provide evidence that the nonprofit had disclosed classified information. He claimed the group had been shown detailed plans for the project by senior military and Secret Service officials but pursued its lawsuit despite being warned about the facility’s “Top Secret nature.”
The president said the new East Wing complex would include a rooftop “DronePort” and argued that its ballroom and security infrastructure form a single integrated structure essential to protecting presidents, their families and senior officials.
The administration’s public Supreme Court filing also describes extensive security features, including bomb shelters, sniper positions, missile-resistant construction, and facilities extending five stories underground.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has not publicly addressed Trump’s latest “treasonists” accusation directly, but it has previously disputed similar claims from his administration.
In April, after the Justice Department alleged that the organization had been shown detailed plans for a “Top Secret” facility beneath the ballroom, the Trust told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon that it was not privy to details of the underground structure because administration officials had declined to share information beyond their public court claims.
Gregory Craig, an attorney representing the Trust, separately called the administration’s assertion that the lawsuit placed Trump’s life at “grave risk” “incorrect and irresponsible" in an April 26 letter to the Justice Department.
Newsweek contacted the National Trust for Historic Preservation via email on Saturday for comment.
The trust sued the administration in December, arguing that construction was proceeding without the congressional authorization and legally required reviews it says the project needs. A federal appeals court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking aboveground ballroom construction–although the order allows work considered necessary for underground security facilities to continue.
On Thursday, the administration asked the Supreme Court to prevent that injunction from taking effect while it pursues an appeal, describing the development as an “integrated military complex” that is “vitally required by national security.”
It requested a decision before the injunction is scheduled to take effect on August 21.
That same day, responding to the government’s emergency Supreme Court application, the Trust said the courts had considered the administration’s national security arguments while allowing underground bunker work to continue. It accused officials of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating ballroom construction and urged the justices to deny the requested stay.
The administration’s emergency application does not ask the Supreme Court to issue a final ruling on the ballroom’s legality. Instead, it asks the justices to suspend the lower court’s injunction while the government prepares a petition seeking a full Supreme Court review.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer also requested an immediate administrative stay before the injunction is due to take effect on August 21.
To secure that relief, the administration argues that it is likely to prevail on the merits and would suffer irreparable harm if construction were interrupted. Its filing challenges the trust’s legal standing and contends that Congress has already granted the executive branch sufficient authority to alter and improve the White House and construct buildings within President’s Park.
The government also says the project is approximately 65 percent complete and has reached a stage at which major design changes are no longer feasible. It warns that stopping work would leave an unfinished structure presenting safety, security and operational problems at the White House.
Those assertions come from the administration’s filing and have not been independently verified.
The D.C. Circuit rejected the administration’s broader view of presidential power in a 2-1 decision. Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia concluded that decisions involving substantial changes to the White House rest with Congress, describing presidents as temporary occupants rather than owners of the property.
They said there was no comparable historical example of a president using privately raised money to demolish and replace a significant portion of the White House without congressional authorization.
Judge Neomi Rao dissented, arguing that the trust lacked standing and that existing laws gave the president authority to undertake the project. The administration has relied heavily on her reasoning in asking the Supreme Court to intervene.
Chief Justice John Roberts gave the trust until Tuesday to respond to the emergency application. The organization has urged the court to deny the request, accusing the administration of accelerating construction to limit the courts’ ability to provide meaningful relief.
President Trump said the following in a lengthy post on Truth Social:
“These are the TREASONISTS that brought the suit against the Military Complex. They revealed Top Military Secrets!
“‘The National Trust for Historic Preservation’ is a beautiful name, but even their name is fake because when they add the words ‘in the United States’ to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, it makes it sound like...
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