“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,” the lawsuit alleges. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has filed a federal lawsuit asking the courts to suspend President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project until its proposed design has reviewed, analyzed, and approved.
According to PBS, in its lawsuit, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is asking a district court judge to stop construction on the ballroom until the project has gone through an environmental assessment, a period for public comment, and congressional debate.
The ballroom project, notes PBS, has been criticized since it was first announced.
Trump initially promised that the ballroom development would not impact the current form and structure of the White House. However, continuing construction led to the outright demolition of the building’s East Wing. Attorneys for the privately-funded National Trust for Historic Preservation say that no president, liberal or conservative, should have the power to single-handedly order the destruction of part of one of the most recognizable buildings in the world.
“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,” the lawsuit alleges. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”
The lawsuit also asks the court to find that Trump’s hurried construction has violated multiple provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
As Trump allegedly exceeded the limits of his constitutional authority by fast-tracking the project, the lawsuit says, no more work should be done until the administration has completed “the required reviews—reviews that should have taken place before the Defendants demolished the East Wing, and before they began the construction of the ballroom.”
PBS writes that the White House is expected to submit its plans for the ballroom to a federal planning commission before the end of the year—roughly three months after the construction began. The National Trust for Historic Preservation says that, not only would this filing be far too late, but the administration’s stated plans remain inadequate.
The plans, attorneys for the trust claim, should have been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Congress before any action was taken.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation says that it contacted all three of these entities, as well as the National Park Service, urging an end to the project but received no response.
Sources
Preservationists sue Trump for ballroom project reviews and congressional approval
Trump sued by preservation group over $300m White House ballroom project
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