President Donald Trump smiles.
Charles Sykes/AP
President Trump’s White House ballroom project can proceed for now, after a court ruling Thursday. A US District Court judge denied a preservation group’s effort to put a pause on construction, but left the door open to a revised filing.
Trump celebrated with a social media post, writing “Great news for America, and our wonderful White House! The Judge on the case of what will be the most beautiful Ballroom anywhere in the World, has just thrown out, and completely erased, the effort to stop its construction.”
That’s not exactly what Judge Richard Leon’s opinion said.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation argued the president hadn’t followed proper procedure in tearing down the East Wing of the White House and soliciting private donations to fund the $300-million ballroom. In his opinion Leon wrote that he wasn’t making a determination on the merits because of the way the suit had been framed. He concluded, saying that if the group were to amend its complaint “the Court will expeditiously consider it and, if viable, address the merits of the novel and weighty issues presented.”
The group responded with disappointment, but said they would continue pushing to halt construction.
“While we are disappointed that the Court did not issue the preliminary injunction, we were pleased that Judge Leon ruled that the National Trust has standing to bring this lawsuit, as we have asserted from the start,” Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, said in a statement. “We are also pleased that he encouraged us to amend our complaint—specifically, to assert that the President has acted beyond his statutory authority—and we plan to do so promptly.”
The planned ballroom is designed to seat 1,000 guests and has long been a dream project for Trump. It generated massive controversy and public pushback, but recently got approval from the Commission of Fine Arts, an architectural review panel now packed with Trump allies. The commission voted to give it a final signoff despite not seeing the final design. It had received more than 2,000 public comments, which according to staff were 99% negative.
The White House is also seeking approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which will review ballroom plans at its next meeting on March 5. It is also dominated by Trump appointees and not expected to give final approval until April.
“The Ballroom construction, which is anticipated to also handle future Inaugurations and large State Visits, is ahead of schedule, and under budget,” Trump said in his post. “It will stand long into the future as a symbol to the Greatness of America!”
