Federal Judge Richard J. Leon said Tuesday that he was inclined to deny a request by the National Trust for Preservation for a temporary restraining order to halt construction on the White House ballroom.
Judge Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, said the trust didn’t show enough to prove that irreparable harm had been done with the work that has already been started underground. His final decision is expected Wednesday.
He said the government is “on fair notice” that if any work is done below-ground that affects work to be done above-ground before the next hearing in the second week of January, the administration should be prepared to take it down.
The trust is suing President Trump, along with the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, the General Services Administration and other individuals involved. The complaint says construction of the ballroom is unlawful because the administration did not receive congressional approval or go through the proper review processes, including a public comment period.
The trust asked the judge to halt construction until the review process is completed, including submitting plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Congress, along with an environmental review.
Government lawyers said Monday that the design of Mr. Trump’s ballroom is “still in progress,” and that’s why no plan has been submitted for approval to the relevant commissions.
The judge said Tuesday he would hold the government to submit construction plans to the NCPC by the end of the year. He appeared unconvinced by the Justice Department attorney Adam Gustafson that the White House seemed prepared to provide the plans.
Mr. Gustafson argued that nothing about the ballroom plans are final and that the lawsuit by the trust is premature until the ballroom design is completed.
But the trust’s lawyer argued that the proper organizations should have been notified before construction began, even underground.
“The defendants have not only violated the law in many separate ways; they have also deprived the public of the critical opportunity to comment and provide input on perhaps the most substantial exterior alteration to the country’s most recognizable and historically significant building since it was reconstructed after being burned during the War of 1812,” Gregory Craig, a lawyer for the trust, told the court in a filing requesting the restraining order.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said Monday that the contractor is rushing to install new temporary security measures to protect the White House complex since the East Wing was demolished, because it sat atop and around security measures on the campus.
“Any pause in construction, even temporarily, would lead the contractor’s obligation unfulfilled in this regard and consequently hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission,” he said.
The ballroom was originally said to be 90,000 square feet and cost $200 million, but the president has since said price tag will be $300 million “because it is going to be double the size.”
The original plan was for it to seat 650, but the president has since said it will hold nearly 1,000 people.
“It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are,” he said on social media on Dec. 6. “It’s just much bigger and more beautiful than originally planned.”
Will Scharf, assistant to the president and White House staff secretary, is the Trump-appointed chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission. He said earlier this month that the plans are expected to be submitted to the commission sometime this month.
The president and his staff have repeatedly said it’s the president’s prerogative to renovate the White House as he sees fit, and none of the money is coming from the taxpayers, but instead from the president’s wealthy friends.
But the trust said the president still needs to get the proper approval.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else. And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in,” the lawsuit says.
Demolition for the new ballroom, including tearing down the East Wing, started in October and was completed this month. The project is expected to be completed summer 2028, according to a report by the National Park Service.
The report’s authors, Frank Lands, deputy director of the NPS, and Jessica Bowron, acting director of NPS, said the project would have “no significant impact” on the White House campus.
“The removal of the current East Wing will result in a permanent adverse impact for those who value the experience of this specific space,” they wrote. “However, in the long term, the selected alternative will provide a modernized East Wing and a permanent ballroom designed to enhance functionality, accessibility, and visitor amenities, while reducing reliance on temporary event spaces.
“Additionally, the documentation of the East Wing before deconstruction and potentially during the construction process will provide a new interpretive opportunity in the future. As a result, the loss of the existing structure is not considered a significant adverse impact,” it said.
