The East Wing of the White House is gone. Construction was set to begin in two weeks, but then something happened in the lawsuit involving Trump’s construction of a ballroom at the White House.
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The preservationists who are suing Trump won.
Not only did the judge block construction of the ballroom, but he also ruled that Trump lacks the authority to undertake construction projects at the White House without congressional approval.
The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner! President Trump (”the President”) claims that Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to construct his East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds. The plaintiff, the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (”National Trust”), claims the President has no such authority under existing statutes and that a preliminary injunction is necessary to avoid irreparable harm.
I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have. As such, I must therefore GRANT the National Trust’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, and the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion.
The White House sits on a national park that is not owned by any one president, but the key part of this ruling, which I feel is being overlooked, is the required congressional authorization.
Let’s dive into how one judge restored the system of checks and balances below.