Nearly two months after the White House’s East Wing was torn down to make way for President Trump’s now $300 million ballroom, the world leader’s administration is being sued over the unauthorized project.
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According to CNN, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a congressionally chartered nonprofit focused on preserving historic buildings, filed the lawsuit, stating it had previously urged a pause in the project but was ignored.
The group stated the ballroom project is “unlawful” and is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to halt construction until the Trump administration complies with the review processes.
“The White House is arguably the most evocative building in our country and a globally recognized symbol of our powerful American ideals,” Carol Quillen, the group’s president and CEO, stated. “As the organization charged with protecting places where our history happened, the National Trust was compelled to file this case.”
President Trump, as well as the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, and the General Services Administration, have all been listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle released a statement on the situation. “President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House,” he stated. “Just like all of his predecessors did.”
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever,” the lawsuit stated. “Not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, and not anyone else.”
President Trump Did Not Proceed With the Public Review Process Before White House Construction, Lawsuit Claims
Meanwhile, the National Trust for Historic Preservation previously addressed a letter to the Trump administration.
The letter “respectfully” urged officials to “pause demolition until plans for the proposed ballroom go through the legally required public review processes.”
The process included consultation and review by the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. It would also include an invitation to the public to submit comments.
Both commissions previously reviewed proposed additions to the White House.
The current chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, Will Scharf, who also serves as Trump’s staff secretary, stated in a November meeting that the commission’s jurisdiction covers construction on the White House. It doesn’t cover demolition.
Scharf did say that plans for the ballroom would be submitted to the agency this month.
President Trump has not addressed the lawsuit.