A federal judge has placed a pause on the White House ballroom’s construction. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon argued that “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families,” Leon wrote. “He is not, however, the owner!” He went on to acknowledge that the case “raises novel and weighty issues, that halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues, and that Defendants intend to seek an appeal immediately.”
“But here is the good news. It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project,” Leon added. “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.”
President Trump criticized the decision in a statement on Truth Social. “In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval. He is WRONG! Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House,” he wrote. “In this case, even less so, because the Ballroom is being built with Private Donations, no Federal Taxpayer Money!”
In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the Trump administration, claiming that the ballroom did not abide by federal rules requiring congressional approval. Leon previously declined to put a stop to the project, stating that the lawsuit against it does not adequately challenge its construction. He offered the group an opportunity to amend its argument.
