WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge said Tuesday he’s leaning toward denying a preservationist group’s request to temporarily halt President Donald Trump ‘s White House ballroom project, saying the organization failed to show that “irreparable harm” would be caused if the project moves forward.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said he could issue a final decision on the restraining order by Wednesday. But Leon said he plans to hold another hearing in January on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s request to pause the ballroom project until it goes through multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress.
In the meantime, Leon warned the administration to not make decisions on underground work, such as the routing of plumbing and gas lines, that would dictate the scope of future ballroom construction above ground. If that were to happen, Leon said, “the court will address it, I assure you of that.”
After the hearing Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed in a statement on social media that her department had “defeated an attempt to stop President Trump’s totally lawful East Wing Modernization and State Ballroom Project.” She characterized the Trust’s lawsuit as another in a series of “bad-faith left-wing legal attacks” and said, “We will continue defending the President’s project in court in the coming weeks.”
Trump went ahead with the ballroom construction before seeking input from a pair of federal review panels, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. Trump has stocked the planning commission with allies, including the chairman, Will Scharf, who recently said he expected to receive the ballroom plans sometime this month.
Leon made a couple of references during the hearing to the administration having just two weeks to submit the plans. Adam Gustafson, the principal deputy assistant attorney general, said the administration had “initiated outreach” to the panel to do just that, but no date had been set.
Trump recently dismissed all members of the fine arts panel. He has yet to name replacements.
Gustafson argued at the hearing that the Trust has no standing in the case to sue and that underground construction must continue for national security reasons that were not outlined in open court. He also said Trump is exempt from federal laws the Trust said he has failed to follow.
Gustafson said the Trust cannot show “irreparable harm” because the ballroom plans have not been finalized and construction above ground was not scheduled to begin until April at the earliest.
Tad Heuer, the attorney representing the Trust – a private, nonprofit organization – said that with every day that construction is allowed to proceed absent the independent reviews, the government gets to say “wait and find out” what the ballroom will look like.
“It’s not about the need for a ballroom. It’s about the need to follow the law,” Heuer said of the case.
The White House announced the ballroom project over the summer and by late October, Trump had demolished the East Wing of the White House to build in its place a ballroom that he said will be big enough to fit 999 people at an estimated cost of $300 million in private funding.
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