President Trump goes ahead with banquet plans despite judge’s order to cancel
After a judge issued an order halting President Donald Trump’s plans to build a banquet hall, the president told reporters that construction would “keep going” anyway.
Two days after a federal judge ordered a halt to President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom project, which must first be approved by Congress, the Federal Planning Agency is scheduled to take a final vote on the project’s site and construction plans.
The vote by the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission on April 2nd, chaired by Will Schaaf, White House chief of staff and former personal lawyer to President Trump, will be conducted in person and the public will be allowed to attend. This is in contrast to the March 5 public hearing, which was held online after the project received more than 35,000 written comments and 104 applicants to testify. Most comments were negative.
Even if the commission votes in favor of the ballroom, it cannot override the judge’s decision to halt construction on the project.
Still, Planning Commission spokesman Steven Staudigl said the vote advances the final stage of the review process.
A White House official, who can speak freely on condition of anonymity, told USA TODAY, “There is nothing in the injunction that prevents the Planning Commission from considering the aesthetic and architectural merits of the project.”
President Trump, who has long lamented the lack of a spacious banquet hall on the White House grounds to eliminate reliance on temporary tents during events such as state dinners, called the judge’s decision “wrong” in a post on Truth Social.
The project was announced by the White House in July, but became a highly controversial undertaking as the east wing was suddenly demolished to accommodate a 90,000 square foot ballroom.
Financing the project through private donations also caused controversy. The White House announced a list of 37 donors, including companies such as Amazon, Apple, Caterpillar, Coinbase, Google, Comcast, HP, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Microsoft, T-Mobile and Union Pacific Railroad, but did not disclose the amount donated. Some companies do business with the federal government.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit Dec. 12 asking the court to halt further construction until the plans pass Congressional approval and a legally required review process. The scale of the project would “dwarf the White House itself,” the preservation group said.
A March 31 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon questioned the “complex financing plan” and noted that Congressional approval could maintain “power over state property and oversight over government spending.”
“The President of the United States is the custodian of the White House for the next generation of the First Family. But he is not the owner!” Leon wrote in a 35-page opinion.
The ruling halts all actions “including, but not limited to, further demolition, site preparation, landscaping, excavation, foundation work, and other construction and related works,” except those that are “absolutely necessary” to ensure the safety of the area.
The Trump administration immediately appealed.
Leon’s order will go into effect on April 14, two weeks after its issuance date. The White House team must file a compliance report with the court within 21 days of the order taking effect.
The ballroom plan is in the final stages of the design approval process, with the Fine Arts Commission expected to approve the design on February 27th and the National Capital Planning Commission on April 2nd. But even if NCPC approves the plan, Leon’s ruling prevents the project from moving forward.
When the White House first announced plans for the ballroom, President Trump told reporters that the addition “will be built on the east side and it’s going to be beautiful.”
“You’ll have a view of the Washington Monument. It won’t be in the way of the current building,” he says. “It’s close, but it doesn’t touch it, and it has complete respect for the existing building. I’m the biggest fan of that.”
But plans have changed.
The loss of the historic building drew criticism from former residents and the public, including former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama.
Clinton posted a photo of the demolished east wing facade with an X caption that read, “It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it.”
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent. You can follow her at X @SwapnaVenugopal.
