A federal appeals court on Friday blocked construction at the White House of the monumental ballroom wanted by Donald Trump. The court maintained the suspension of work ordered in April by a judge and indicated that the American government had fourteen days to possibly request the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia indicated that this blockage had “nothing to do” with the relevance of the project itself, but was explained by the fact that the American president had launched the work without obtaining a green light from Congress. The government does not have “unfettered authority” to “redesign, remodel, and rebuild the White House – the People’s House – to accommodate a president’s personal desire,” the court said.
Trump will go to the Supreme Court
Donald Trump announced Friday that he would ask the Supreme Court to take up the decision of an appeals court rendered earlier in the day blocking the construction at the White House of the monumental ballroom wanted by the American president.
“We will immediately appeal to the United States Supreme Court. The army and the Secret Service (the police officers responsible for its protection) consider this decision horrible, politically motivated and illegal,” he wrote on his Truth Social network.
Work undertaken
In October, the Republican president bulldozed an entire wing of the White House to build this ballroom intended to accommodate up to 1,000 people, for various receptions and dinners in honor of foreign dignitaries. Its estimated budget, financed by private donations, increased from 200 million to 400 million $.
It is being challenged in court by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP), a nonprofit organization mandated by Congress to preserve historic buildings. Donald Trump insists that this building must also strengthen the security of the White House and Washington, for example by hosting a drone platform.
