White House faces skeptical judge in lawsuit over Trump ballroom

By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Reuters) – A judge in Washington on Thursday sharply questioned whether President Donald Trump’s administration had authority to proceed with the construction of a $400-million White House ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing.

At a hearing in a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon raised doubts whether Trump had statutory power to tear down the East Wing with plans to build a ballroom in its place without approval or oversight from the U.S. Congress.

Leon snapped, “Come on, be serious” after a lawyer for the administration drew parallels to the erection of a pool during the Gerald Ford administration in the 1970s and other smaller renovations. 

Leon said he would aim to issue a ruling in the coming weeks on the National Trust’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop work on the 90,000-square-foot (8,361-square-meter) ballroom. 

The National Trust sued Trump and several federal agencies in December, arguing the project has proceeded without required approvals, environmental review or congressional authorization.

The group says federal law bars construction on federal parkland in Washington without the express authority of Congress. It also argues the National Park Service violated federal law by issuing an environmental assessment instead of a full impact statement, and by releasing it after demolition began on the 120-year-old East Wing. 

Leon in December declined to issue a temporary restraining order in the case. The White House and other federal defendants have urged the court to deny a preliminary injunction, which would force an end to construction while the lawsuit proceeds.

The administration has defended the legality of the project, arguing it followed in a long line of presidential renovations, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s construction of the East Wing itself.

The ballroom is needed for state functions, its design is still evolving, and above-ground construction is not planned until April, making an injunction unnecessary, the administration said in a court filing.

Justice Department lawyer Jacob Roth asserted at Thursday’s hearing that the ballroom plans advance the public interest.

The National Capital Planning Commission held a hearing earlier this month about the ballroom plans, the first time plans for the ballroom had been discussed in a public forum. The White House submitted an application for the project to the NCPC and the Commission of Fine Arts last month.

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario, Rod Nickel and Alistair Bell)