General Discussion

A federal judge ordered a halt to construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, ruling that Trump lacks authority to fund the estimated $400 million project through private donations.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon disagreed with the Trump administration’s argument that the president has broad authority to make changes to the White House, including on the scale of his planned, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

“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!” Leon wrote in a 35-page ruling issued Tuesday afternoon. He said that “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”....

Lawyers for the National Trust, which is charged by Congress with preserving historic buildings, also focused on Trump’s decision to solicit private donations, saying that the project needed express authorization by Congress.

“Rather than admit that none exists, the Defendants invent a Rube Goldberg machine” to justify proceeding with the project without express congressional approval, the National Trust’s lawyers argued in court filings in January.