US court halts Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
A US federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House, Reuters reports.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said that no president has the authority to fundamentally alter the White House without approval from Congress.
"Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House," the court said.
The judges added that Congress has never given the executive branch unlimited power to redesign or rebuild the White House "to fit a particular President’s desires."
The ruling does not permanently block the project, but it stops construction work while the legal case continues, unless Congress approves the plan.
National security argument
The Trump administration had argued that the ballroom was needed to host large official events while improving security at the White House.
A Justice Department lawyer told the court that judges should not interfere with a privately funded project and argued that the former East Wing left the president vulnerable to potential attacks.
The court rejected those arguments, saying that national security arguments "are not an automatic get-out-of-law-free card."
The appeals court delayed its ruling for 14 days to give the Trump administration time to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Trump has previously defended both the project and its price tag, which has doubled since the original estimate. He said the ballroom is "approximately twice the size, and a far higher quality, than the original proposal."
The ballroom project involves building a new complex on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House at an estimated cost of $400 million.
Trump initially said the existing structure would remain untouched, but later ordered the entire East Wing to be demolished.
The project has repeatedly faced legal challenges and political opposition in Congress. Democrats have criticized it as a waste of money and blocked funding for it in the Senate.
Earlier, Trump sharply criticized the judge who had previously halted construction, saying the judge had overstepped his authority and calling the project vital to national security.
