US court blocks Trump’s US$400 million White House ballroom project
The US president says he will ask the Supreme Court to overturn the ‘horrendous’ decision, saying the plan includes key security features.
Source excerpt
A US federal appeal court ordered Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop construction on a US$400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority.
“Each president is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House” and cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval, the Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a 2-1 opinion.
The order upheld a preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year after the administration tore down the East Wing and began building a 90,000 sq ft (8,360-square-metre) ballroom without seeking authorisation from Congress.
“Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for executive self-help,” the panel’s majority wrote.
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