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Ballroom halted pending appeal
A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered Donald Trump’s administration to stop construction of a $400 million White House ballroom on Friday, while allowing below-ground work to continue.
“stop construction on a $400 million ballroom”
The panel upheld a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon and placed its own ruling on hold for 14 days to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
NBC News reported the appeals court affirmed Leon’s modified preliminary injunction in a 2-1 decision, and said the court stayed its own ruling for 14 days to permit a Supreme Court appeal.
The BBC said the order upholds the preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued after the administration tore down the East Wing last year to begin the project without congressional approval.
Trump vs. judges
Trump blasted the ruling in a post on his social media platform and vowed to “immediately” appeal to the nation’s highest court, arguing the ballroom project was “required for the National Security of Washington, D.C.”
NBC News quoted the appeals court majority that “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” while also citing the court’s view that each President is “a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House.”
In dissent, U.S. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao said Leon’s underlying order was an “overreach” and argued the preservation group lacked standing to sue and that the ballroom is “likely within the President’s authority to make improvements to the Executive Residence at the White House.”
The Hill described the panel’s split as a 2-1 decision, with the majority saying Congress retains control over funding and the dissent saying the injunction was “judicial overreach” and that construction should be allowed to continue.
What’s at stake next
The appeals court said its ruling “has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy,” but it does mean the administration may not proceed during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization.
“severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people”
CBS News reported Trump argued the halt “severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people who work, and will be working, at the White House,” while also noting the lower court’s ruling that the appeals panel upheld explicitly allows work on the presidential bunker to continue.
Reuters said Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth argued during D.C. Circuit arguments on June 5 that courts have no role in weighing the privately funded project and that the National Trust’s “architectural preference” should not take precedence over national security concerns.
NBC4 Washington said the appeals court ruled Trump can’t build the ballroom without congressional approval, while also stating the court paused its order for two weeks to give the justices a window to consider intervening on their emergency docket.
