Judge rules that Trump's ballroom construction in White House East Wing can continue
Judge says White House ballroom construction can continue | FOX 5 DC
A federal court judge will not immediately stop the construction of the White House ballroom.
WASHINGTON - A federal judge has weighed in on an emergency request to stop the president's construction of a new ballroom to replace the old East Wing of the White House.
What we know:
Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, declined what he called an "extraordinary remedy" that would halt construction at the White House during a 45-minute hearing at the federal courthouse in downtown D.C.
The National Trust For Historic Preservation, a private nonprofit that is a preservationist watchdog of sorts, filed an emergency request to halt construction after the East Wing was demolished. They want the White House to go through a public review process — one they say is required by federal law.
What they're saying:
"I think, as a spectator, I guess if people tried to do it in the past, and he's allowed to do it, and they like now, he's just doing it, and they weren't allowed to, you know?" a visitor to the White House, Christina, told FOX 5.
"Yeah, I feel like it's kind of changing the look because it has always looked the same-ish," another visitor said.
When asked if construction on the ballroom should continue, another visitor from Florida said, "Why not? We live in a free country, so he's the president. If he wants to add a ballroom, I think it's awesome."
Dig deeper:
In a recent court filing, the White House says the plans for the ballroom are not final and they will coordinate with the necessary agencies to get it done.
The National Trust says the administration has already gone too far, destroying not only the East Wing, but its colonnade, "a version of which was first built on the site during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson," they say.
The organization says the White House is required to work with the Capital Planning Commission on the project.
The judge did not ultimately weigh in on the merits of either argument, instead refusing to intervene this early in the case on an emergency basis.
Big picture view:
"Extremely extraordinarily, there's not people who are generally suing over the White House demolition. Historically, we've had multiple different projects go through normal processes, such as like the fence. There was a major renovation years ago with regards to the tennis courts when President Obama wanted to turn them into a basketball court, but that was part of a much larger project that was rewiring asbestos removal, those types of things, so. It was a much more intense type of project," said Rebecca Miller, Executive Director of the D.C. Preservation League.
Leon warned the government that if they do anything in the underground prep work that would dictate what eventually happens with above-ground construction, they should be prepared to take it down.
We can expect a written order from the judge in the next day or so.