Trump ‘Can’t Imagine’ Supreme Court Rules Against His White House Ballroom Project
(Photo via: @RapidResponse47 on X)
President Donald Trump is confident the Supreme Court will take his side in the ongoing saga which is his White House ballroom project.
The president was asked on Wednesday what his plan is if his administration’s emergency filing to keep construction going is rejected, two days before work will be forced to stop.
“We hope that doesn’t happen. I can’t imagine it happening,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
He then bashed the National Trust for Historic Preservation for filing the lawsuit which has thrown the project’s future into limbo, as well as member Alison K. Hoagland for her claims the ballroom would cause “permanent and irreparable harm” to the White House.
The ballroom would “diminish the primacy of the White House,” Hoagland argued in a December court filing, adding she would personally “suffer both professional and personal injuries, including to my aesthetic, cultural, and historical interests” if it is built. Trump said her gripes were totally bogus.
“The lawsuit, the person had no standing. It was a person who said she walked along and she didn’t like the view, even though nothing was built,” Trump said. “A person that didn’t like it and never even saw a rendering of it. We’ve gotten tremendous architectural reviews, it’s beautiful.”
Trump added, “The woman has absolutely no standing, according to every analyst that I’ve seen… it was a lawsuit that should have never been allowed to be brought.”
His comments come after the Trump administration filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court last week.
The administration argued that stopping the project — which it said is about two-thirds complete — is a national security threat; work is supposed to stop on Aug. 21 unless the Supreme Court rules in the administration’s favor.
Attorney General Todd Blanche told Fox News last weekend the administration has a “fundamental disagreement” with the appeals court which ruled the president needs congressional approval to move forward with his much-publicized and much-criticized ballroom. Blanche claimed Trump already has the authority needed to plow ahead.
Fox News anchor Shannon Bream noted the recent 2-1 decision from the D.C. circuit called for halting the project, at least for the moment; Bream read from the ruling, which said it “doesn’t necessarily mean the defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom. What it does mean is that the defendants may not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization as the Constitution and laws require.”
She then asked Blanche, “Why not just go to Congress?”
“We don’t believe we have to go Congress,” Blanche said. “We believe congress has already given us the authority to do what we’re doing. Many presidents have done a tremendous amount of work to the White House, as they should, and congress has authorized them to do so. So we have a fundamental disagreement with those two judges.”
Blanche said Trump “has the authority to do this, and he said that because he absolutely does have the authority to do this. And we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court recognizes that so we can get the ballroom finished as soon as possible.”
He also echoed what Trump said after the assassination attempt against him at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April — that the ballroom is necessary for safety reasons.
“Yes it is a ballroom, but it’s also a meaningful upgrade and necessary part of the security of this city and the president and his family,” Blanche said. “And so it’s not just about a place for world leaders to come and have dinner, it’s also about making sure the president, his family, guests, world leaders, are safe when they’re in this city.”
Watch above.
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