Appeals Court Says Trump Cannot Build White House Ballroom Without Congressional Approval

A federal appeals court says President Trump does not have the unilateral authority to build a new White House ballroom and cannot continue construction without Congressional authorization. The president calls the decision “unjust” and is vowing to appeal.A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2-1 on Friday to affirm a lower court’s injunction blocking construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which is already well advanced. Mr. Trump blasted the decision on Truth Social, saying the judges “voted against the desperately needed Military Center, required for the National Security of Washington D.C.” The president noted that the ruling was stayed for 14 days to give the administration time to appeal. Judge Patricia Millet, an Obama appointee, and Judge Brad Garcia, a Biden appointee, voted to affirm the lower court’s injunction, finding that the question of whether “a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”“The Constitution assigns Congress — not the Executive — the responsibility to decide whether proposed changes to the physical design of the White House may proceed, even where those changes are said to serve security interests,” the court said. “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence. The President has no — and claims no — constitutionally assigned authority over that property.”The court said that “without undertaking promised consultations or obtaining Congress’s permission, President Trump bulldozed the entire East Wing in order to construct a massive, 90,000 square-foot ballroom paid for by private funds with no congressional oversight.”“We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now,” the court said. The judges said the ruling “has nothing at all to do with” whether a new ballroom is “desirable” and “does not necessarily mean that the Defendant may not ultimately construct the ballroom.” However, they said that Mr. Trump may “not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization.”The dissenting judge, Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, accused the court of “abus[ing] its discretion in seizing control of construction at the President’s home and office.”Mr. Trump has previously said the ballroom will be funded by private donations. The White House reportedly redirected roughly $350 million in federal funds meant for the Secret Service to the White House security upgrades. The White House says those funds are for security purposes such as bulletproof glass, drone detection technology, and chemical threat detectors, and not for construction of the ballroom. On Friday, Mr. Trump said the new ballroom will include bomb shelters, a state of-the-art medical facility, “top secret military facilities,” “missile-resistant steel, columns, roofs, and beams,” and bullet- and blast-proof glass.“It is all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit, which is vital for National Security and Military Operations of the United States of America!” Mr. Trump wrote, adding that the Circuit Court’s ruling “severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare” of current and future White House employees. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which brought the lawsuit that led to a federal court issuing an injunction to block the ballroom’s construction, celebrated the circuit court’s ruling. The president of the National Trust, Brent Leggs, said in a statement, “This is a great day for our country and for the American people’s right to voice their opinions about the historic places they cherish, including the White House. From the beginning, our position has been clear and consistent: the law states that only Congress can authorize the construction of a ballroom at the White House.”Mr. Brett said he is pleased with the decision, even though it is stayed for 14 days.

Appeals Court Says Trump Cannot Build White House Ballroom Without Congressional Approval

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