Pete Marovich / POOL / EPA
President of the USA does not own the White House, warns judge. It’s a “stupid process”, Donald Trump had said.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a heritage advocacy group’s request to suspend temporarily the project ballroom of 400 million dollars (346 million euros) from Donald Trump at the presidential residence in Washington, DC.
Appointed to the position by former Republican President George W. Bush, Leon concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation will likely succeed in its claims, as “no law comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of ‘first families.’ It is not, however, the owner!“, wrote the judge.
Leon suspended the execution of his order for 14 days, recognizing that the government will probably appeal and that the case “raises new and important questions”, and the stoppage of ongoing work “may generate logistical problems”.
The judge stated that he analyzed the material that the government presented to him privately before concluding that halting construction would not put national security at risk.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Trump, in a social media post, criticized the heritage defense fund for suing him over a project that he argues is being built at no cost to taxpayers.
Donald Trump had already said that this process is .
The White House said construction of the 8,400-square-meter building would be financed by private donations, including from Trump himself.
The lawsuit filed by heritage advocates seeks to obtain a court order suspending the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receive the Congressional approval.
The White House announced the ballroom project over the summer, and in late October, Trump removed the East Wing of the White House to make way for a ballroom that would seat 999 people.
The President moved forward with the project before seeking the opinion of two responsible federal bodies – the National Capital Planning Commission and the Fine Arts Commission. The administration said construction on the ballroom would begin in April.
During the hearing, Leon expressed skepticism regarding what he called “changing theories and dynamics” presented by the government in its arguments in the case.
Leon expressed frustration with Justice Department lawyer Jacob Roth’s attempts to equate the massive ballroom project with relatively modest work done at the White House by previous administrations. “This is a iconic symbol of this nation“, stated the judge.
The administration argued that other presidents have not required congressional approval for White House reform projects, large or small.
“Many of these projects were highly controversial in their time, but have since become accepted — and even beloved — parts of the White House,” the administration lawyers wrote.
