President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction can continue, at least for now.
On Saturday, a federal appeals court ruled that temporary construction on Trump’s $400 million ballroom can continue while his administration fights a lower court’s ruling that the president’s project was beyond the scope of his authority.
A three-judge U.S. circuit court in Washington, D.C., ruled 2-1 that the construction can resume until April 17, when the court revisits the issue, NBC News reports.
The previous court’s ruling ordered that construction on the project had to stop by April 14.
Trump has rebuffed attempts to stop the construction of his ballroom by arguing that the “ballroom is clearly a vital project for the safety and security of the White House and the President, his family, and his staff,” according to a court document entered by his lawyers.
The appeals court ruling did not offer a ruling on whether or not the “safety and security” issues were legitimate and instructed the original court to review the case and provide clarifications on the matter.
The judge in that case, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, ruled in favor of a preservation group that opposed the demolition of the White House East Wing and the new ballroom. He determined that Trump had exceeded his authority as president by undertaking the construction and said he needed to seek Congressional approval for the project.
In his initial injunction, Leon noted that the president is the “steward of the White House” but added, “he is not, however, the owner.”
Trump’s lawyers have argued that there is no need for Congressional approval because the project is reportedly being funded fully through private donations.
“No taxpayer dollars are being used for the funding of this beautiful, desperately needed, and completely secure (for national security purposes) ballroom,” they wrote in court documents.
It continued, arguing that other legislative bodies should not have a say in the needs of the president’s residence.
“Congress did not get involved with the design, planning, and architecture of either the original East Wing or the West Wing many decades ago,” the filing said. “Decisions about what is needed to keep the President, his family, and his staff safe rest with the President, and cannot possibly be outsourced to other branches of government, just as the President could not dictate the Senate’s building needs or architectural design.”
Even with private donations, however, the project is still on public ground and makes significant changes to public buildings. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which opposes the ballroom project, made that argument in an appeal to the ruling. It noted that all construction projects involving federal buildings require congressional approval, while also calling into question the legitimacy of Trump’s national security claims.
“Defendants appear to contend that being prevented from illegally constructing a massive ballroom constitutes a national security emergency. It plainly does not,” the NTHP said in the appeal.
The rebuttal also noted that the ballroom will take two years to finish, and that “the absence of a massive ballroom on White House grounds has not stopped this (or any other) President from residing at the White House or hosting events there.”
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