Former U.S. President Donald Trump has spent a lot of time during his second term focused on building a very large ballroom at the White House. According to a report from NBC News, that plan is now facing serious trouble. A new lawsuit could force construction to stop right away.
To build the ballroom, Trump ordered the complete demolition of the White House’s East Wing, a section of the building that was originally constructed in 1902. When photos and videos of the East Wing being torn down became public, many people reacted with anger and concern. Critics argued that an important and historic part of the White House was being destroyed, and they began pushing back through legal action.
On Friday morning, a nonprofit group called the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The group claims that Trump did not have the legal authority to make such major changes to the White House without following proper procedures. According to the lawsuit, the administration moved forward with the demolition and construction without any formal review or public input, which the group says is required by law. They are asking a federal judge to stop all work on the ballroom until these legal steps are completed.
The lawsuit argues that no president has the right to tear down parts of the White House without oversight, regardless of political party. It also states that building a large new structure on public property requires giving the public a chance to be informed and to share their opinions. The group insists that this process was completely ignored.
In its filing, the organization says construction should be paused immediately. They argue that required reviews should have been done before the East Wing was demolished and before any work on the ballroom began. The lawsuit also says the administration failed to get the necessary approvals.
According to the trust’s lawyers, plans for the ballroom should have been formally presented to Congress, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the Commission of Fine Arts. None of these bodies received or approved any plans before demolition started. Because of this, the administration is accused of shutting the public out of a decision involving one of the most important buildings in the country.
The lawsuit emphasizes that public involvement is especially important in this case because the White House is not just any building. It is one of the most famous and historically significant structures in the United States, and changes to it should be handled with extreme care and transparency.
Trump has said that building the ballroom will take about a year and a half to complete. He has also claimed, without providing evidence, that presidents have wanted to add a ballroom to the White House for more than 150 years.
