One of the few things that brings Donald Trump any genuine joy are his plans for the White House ballroom. He’ll scowl and mutter through practically every press conference, but the moment he gets a chance to discuss the ballroom, his face visibly lights up with genuine enthusiasm.
So we can only imagine his fury that a federal judge appears on the cusp of ordering the entire project to be shut down. A hearing on the matter brought by historic preservationists is currently underway before senior US District Judge Richard Leon, who’s clearly extremely skeptical of arguments brought by the Justice Department in favor of the project.
For example, Trump’s lawyers argued that a federal law authorizes the president “to undertake “alteration” and “improvement” of the White House, “as the President may determine.” That’s true, but Judge Leon was astonished that demolishing large parts of the building is being deemed “alteration”. He said that dubbing Trump’s actions as “alteration”, is a “brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary.”
Undaunted, Trump’s lawyers tried the argument that, technically, in a way, the White House is under the National Park Service’s Authority, so it’s kind of more like a park, right? Judge Leon wasn’t having any of it:
“This isn’t any national park. This is an iconic symbol of this nation.”
Elsewhere, Judge Leon doesn’t sound happy that Trump has tried to circumvent the usual channels to get approval for his ballroom: “It would have been a heck of a lot easier by any standard to have just gone to Congress to get the authority to do it.”
Truly, a matter relevant to all Americans
All indications are that the court is heading for a face-off with Trump. Judge Leon certainly appears poised to issue an order blocking any more construction on the pile of rubble that was once the East Wing of the White House. Frankly, I can’t imagine anything that would annoy Trump more, so I deeply hope this happens.
That said, as the East Wing is now effectively demolished, something is going to have to be put there. Perhaps the order will simply be that it be restored to its previous appearance, doubtless at great cost to the nation.
Either way, it seems like Trump’s fantasies of a glittering golden ballroom where he can host the fanciest dinners your money can buy are disintegrating before his very eyes. But we don’t expect him to go down without a fight. After all, property development is something he’s actually experienced in, and he’s not going to give up just because some pesky judge orders him to.
