A judge Tuesday declined to grant a temporary restraining order that would have halted construction of the $250 million ballroom at the White House. In a Monday filing, the Justice Department argued that stopping construction would be a national security risk.
“The equities patently favor permitting current below-grade work to continue, given the security concerns inherent in leaving the East Wing foundation area unfinished,” the filing said. “The Court should deny Plaintiff’s request for a temporary restraining order.”
“Plaintiff” refers to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization chartered by Congress in 1949. Last Friday, the organization filed its suit against President Donald Trump’s administration.
In its suit, the trust alleged “that ongoing construction of the White House ballroom is unlawful,” and asked the court to “halt further construction activities until the government complies with the law by going through the legally mandated review processes, including a public comment period.”
Trump has long sought to build a ballroom on the White House grounds, first floating the idea before he ever ran for office, when former President Barack Obama was in the White House. He finally broke ground on the project this year, demolishing what was the East Wing of the historic presidential residence to make way for a new structure.
When complete, the new ballroom is expected to be 90,000 square foot ballroom with a capacity of more than 650 people. Trump has complained that the former East Wing was not large enough for the events held at the White House, sometimes results being held outside or in tents in less-than-ideal weather conditions.
Audacy covered polling results released this October that showed that less than half of Democrats and Republicans were in favor of plans to demolish the East Wing. However, Republicans were more supportive of the plan than Democrats and independents.
In its filing last week, National Trust for Historic Preservation President Carol Quillen said: “White House is arguably the most evocative building in our country and a globally recognized symbol of our powerful American ideals. As the organization charged with protecting places where our history happened, the National Trust was compelled to file this case.”
According to the nonprofit, it submitted a letter to the National Capital Planning Commission, the National Park Service, and the Commission of Fine Arts “calling for a pause in construction until the legally mandated review processes were completed.” It said the concerns “went unaddressed.”
Per the U.S. Department of Justice’s Monday filing, “there is no basis for Plaintiff to obtain emergency relief.” It also said: “If Plaintiff instead complains of ongoing below-grade construction activities, it fails to demonstrate a risk of imminent irreparable harm, or that its concerns outweigh the substantial security equities that favor permitting construction to continue,” and cited the Secret Service’s concerns.
“Any pause in construction, even temporarily, would leave the contractor’s obligation unfulfilled in this regard and consequently hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission,” it explained.
Axios said the government submitted a declaration from Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn. It also noted that the East Wing previously sat above an emergency bunker for the president.
“The president often invokes national security as a core motivator and justification for his sweeping policy changes, from immigration to trade policy to his overhaul of the federal workforce,” the outlet added.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s said Tuesday that its request for a temporary restraining order was declined.
“We are fully committed to upholding the interests of the American people and advocating for compliance with the law, including review by the National Capital Planning Commission and an opportunity for the public to provide comment and shape the project. We anticipate receiving the Judge’s order in the next few days,” said Quillen.