A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the construction of the monumental ballroom wanted by Donald Trump at the White House.
The court upheld the suspension of work ordered in April by a judge and indicated that the US government had 14 days to possibly request the Supreme Court.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeal 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 “unlimited authority” to “redesign, remodel, and rebuild the White House – the People’s House – to accommodate a president’s personal desire,” the court said.
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 make it possible to strengthen the security of the White House and Washington, for example by hosting a drone platform.
