Trump sued by preservation group over $300m White House ballroom project | Donald Trump
Donald Trump is facing a federal lawsuit aimed at stopping construction of his $300 million White House ballroom, with historic preservationists accusing the president of violating several federal laws by demolishing part of the iconic building without required reviews or congressional approval.
The legal challenge, filed Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, represents the most significant attempt yet to stop Trump’s 90,000-square-foot addition to the White House complex. The organization is seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze all construction activities until appropriate federal oversight procedures are completed.
“No president is legally allowed to demolish parts of the White House without review – not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, not anyone else,” the complaint reads. “And no president is legally allowed to build a ballroom on public property without giving the public an opportunity to provide input.”
The organization, which was created by Congress in 1949 to facilitate public participation in the preservation of nationally significant sites, claims that Trump rushed the demolition of the historic East Wing in October over the objections of preservationists who urged the White House to pause and submit its plans to federal review panels.
The lawsuit names Trump and several administration officials as defendants, and alleges violations of the National Capital Planning Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Constitution’s Property Clause, which reserves control of federal property to Congress.
It is also the second legal challenge to the ballroom project, after an emergency motion in October by Virginia couple Charles and Judith Voorhees to stop the demolition was rejected.
Several polls have shown strong public opposition to the ballroom project. A Washington Post and ABC News survey found that 56 percent of Americans oppose tearing down the East Wing for the ballroom, with only 28 percent in favor. Another Yahoo News-YouGov poll showed 61% of people disapprove of the ballroom plans, with opposition particularly strong — 46% strongly disapproving compared to just 18% strongly approving.
The $300 million project is being funded by wealthy individuals and major corporations benefitting from federal government contracts, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Palantir Technologies. The administration released only a partial list of contributors while guaranteeing anonymity to others.
Officials have tried to differentiate between construction on the White House grounds, which they say requires federal review, and demolition and site preparation, which they say does not. However, the National Trust says the distinction is meaningless as photos of huge construction machinery and crews regularly working on site have been seen on social media.
The president also previously said he was not subject to the usual building restrictions. “They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House. You’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want,'” Trump said at an October dinner celebrating ballroom donors.
Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and director of communications, in October dismissed the National Trust’s criticism of X by calling its leaders “loser Democrats and liberal donors.”
