President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to let construction of his $400 million White House ballroom continue, one week after a federal appeals court ruled the administration must seek congressional authorization for the project. The emergency application, filed Friday by the Justice Department, seeks to block an injunction set to take effect on August 21 that would force all above-ground work to halt. The case has become a flashpoint over presidential authority, pitting the administration’s national security arguments against preservationists who say the president demolished a historic wing of the White House and started building without the legally required reviews.
The legal fight began last year. The administration tore down the East Wing of the White House and began construction on a 90,000-square-foot ballroom without notifying Congress. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued, arguing the project was unlawful because it started without a required review process that includes public comment and approval from entities such as the National Capital Planning Commission. BBC reported the demolition occurred in October, and Al Jazeera reported the Trust filed its lawsuit in December.
On August 7, a majority on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered construction halted unless Congress grants approval. The ruling upheld an earlier order issued by District Court Judge Richard Leon in April. The appeals court panel wrote that whether a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for executive self-help. The court allowed underground security work to continue but blocked above-ground construction that changes the visible characteristics of the White House.
The injunction is paused for two weeks and takes effect August 21. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the project is 65 percent complete. He called the injunction “dangerous” and said not granting the emergency application would amount to “construction-by-injunction.” In the filing, he wrote that the stop-work mandate is “even more flagrantly inequitable, if not impossible” given how far construction has progressed. He also argued that forcing the president to seek congressional approval to ensure the White House is safe would give the legislature improper power over the executive branch.
The administration’s case
The government has framed the ballroom as a military asset. Sauer wrote that the case involves “an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security.” The administration says the project includes bomb shelters, medical treatment centers, protection from drones and missiles, and what Trump describes as a “drone port” on its roof. Trump has said the facilities are “all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit.” The government argues every part of the project is an integrated whole geared toward remedying security deficiencies at the White House, and that the ballroom structure is designed to shield the military installation beneath it.
Sauer warned that if the appellate court’s block takes effect, it would wrongfully install a single district judge as the sole arbiter of what construction is strictly necessary to protect the president, his family, staff, and visitors including foreign dignitaries. The administration has also argued that the ballroom is fully funded by private corporate donations, meaning congressional approval is not required. Al Jazeera reported that the cost to taxpayers has ballooned. This contradicted Trump’s earlier claims that the project would be funded solely through outside donations.
Trump has repeatedly touted the ballroom as “a gift” to the American people, according to The Guardian. He and his allies have argued the new space is needed to host secure events following a series of failed assassination attempts. The White House lacks a large event space, Trump has long argued, and building one is vital for national security.
The opposition
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has pushed back hard. In a statement Friday, the Trust accused the administration of “refusing to listen” to previous rulings and “actively attempting to outrun the courts by accelerating construction of the ballroom.” The group said the administration’s “transparent efforts to evade the rule of law, frustrate judicial review, and limit the availability of meaningful relief in the courts must stop here.” Trump has repeatedly defied court rulings and insisted that work on the ballroom will continue, according to Al Jazeera. After last week’s injunction, Trump wrote that “this unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety.”
Chief Justice John Roberts ordered the Trust to file a response by noon on Tuesday. The ballroom is not an isolated project. It is part of a broader effort by Trump to remake Washington’s cityscape, which has included the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and a planned arch in the style of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The administration has faced allegations across all these projects that it sidestepped required review and public-comment processes. The president denies the charge. The Guardian noted that the administration has also appealed other lower court decisions to the Supreme Court this week, including temporary injunctions over the president’s attempts to curb mail-in voting.