Judge Keeps Hold on Above-Ground White House Ballroom Work

A federal judge ruled Thursday that above-ground work on President Trump’s White House ballroom must stay halted while construction of underground security facilities can continue, CBS News and the Associated Press reported.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, issued the clarification after a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit told him on Saturday to reconsider the national security consequences of stopping the project, according to both outlets. The administration had argued that the entire project, which the AP put at $400 million and 90,000 square feet, falls within the exemption in his March 31 order for work needed to keep the White House safe. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!” Leon wrote, as quoted by the AP.

His revised order allows “above-ground construction strictly necessary to cover, secure, and protect” the underground facilities, along with waterproofing, structural reinforcement and sealing off exposed areas, CBS News reported. Excavations, bunkers, military installations and medical facilities below the ballroom can proceed, according to the AP, provided the work does not “lock in the above-ground size and scale of the ballroom,” CBS News said. Leon wrote, as quoted by the AP, that “national security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity” and that he has “no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager.” He said he reviewed material the government submitted privately before concluding that halting construction would not jeopardize national security, the AP reported.

Justice Department lawyers have argued that the new East Wing plan advances “critical national-security objectives” and that Leon’s ruling “would imperil the President and national security and indefinitely leave a large hole beside the Executive Residence,” CBS News reported. They cite threats including drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards. Mr. Trump called Leon a “Trump Hating” judge on social media and wrote, according to CBS News, that “the underground doesn’t work, isn’t necessary, and would indeed be useless, without the above ground sections.”

The Justice Department filed an appeal of the new order on Thursday, according to CBS News. Leon stayed it for seven days, which the AP said gives the government time to seek Supreme Court review as well. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued over the project, said it was pleased with the ruling, according to the AP.

Mr. Trump announced a privately funded ballroom last summer and had the East Wing demolished in October, CBS News reported. Leon had earlier halted the construction in March, and the dispute now centers on how much of the project is genuinely required for security, which the administration says is nearly all of it. The AP said the appeals panel on Saturday had found it lacked enough information to decide how much could be paused without endangering the president, his family or staff.