'Come on. Be serious.' Judge doubts Trump's White House demolition is legal
A federal judge appeared to side with plaintiffs suing to stop President Donald Trump's construction of his planned $400 million White House ballroom.
That's according to a Thursday article in CNN, which reported that U.S. District Judge Richard Leon — an appointee of former President George W. Bush – was skeptical of the Trump administration's claims that the ballroom was being built in accordance with existing laws. The network reported that Leon frequently admonished the administration from the bench while responding to arguments from White House lawyers.
The nonprofit group National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States sued the Trump administration in December in response to Trump bulldozing the East Wing of the White House to make room for the 89,000 square-foot ballroom. Plaintiffs are asking Judge Leon to issue a preliminary injunction that would halt all construction until both Congress and the public have been given a chance to weigh in on significant renovations to a historic property.
Trump administration lawyer Yaakov Roth argued that an existing federal law allows for the president to make expenditures of tax dollars to update the White House. However, Judge Leon countered that the law they cited is only for "very small-sized projects like air conditioning systems and lights.
"It’s not [for] $400 million worth of destruction and construction," Leon said.
Roth pushed back, citing former President Gerald Ford's addition of a swimming pool and cabana, as well as First Lady Melania Trump's tennis pavilion. But Judge Leon scoffed at that argument and argued that those projects were in a different ballpark than Trump's demolition of the entire East Wing.
"The ‘77 Gerald Ford swimming pool? You compare that to tearing down and building a new East Wing? Come on. Be serious," Leon said.
While Leon didn't issue a ruling from the bench, he suggested he would issue a final decision in the coming weeks.
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