A federal judge in Washington said he is unlikely to order the Trump administration to immediately halt construction of a $300 million White House ballroom on the former East Wing site, as he considers a lawsuit alleging the project abuses presidential power.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said at a hearing that he is unlikely to grant the temporary restraining order sought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which accuses President Trump and federal agencies of launching the 90,000-square-foot project without required reviews or approvals.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has made sweeping changes to the White House, including adding gold décor to the Oval Office and paving over the Rose Garden lawn to create a Mar-a-Lago-style patio. The proposed ballroom would far exceed those changes. Images of heavy machinery tearing into the White House’s 120-year-old East Wing sparked backlash, with critics accusing Trump of moving forward without proper review.
“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’s lawsuit said.
In its request for a temporary restraining order, the group said the project has already caused “irreversible damage” to the White House and its grounds. The administration countered in a Monday filing that the project is lawful and consistent with past presidential renovations, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s construction of the East Wing. Officials also argued that the ballroom is needed for state functions, its design remains in flux, and above-ground construction is not set to begin until April, making an emergency order unnecessary.
“The President possesses statutory authority to modify the structure of his residence, and that authority is supported by background principles of Executive power,” the filing said.
The lawsuit alleges Trump bypassed public input and ignored laws requiring consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts before demolishing the East Wing and beginning construction on the ballroom.
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