By Greg Stohr, Bloomberg News
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is trying to make his White House ballroom a “fait accompli” by building it so quickly the judiciary won’t be able to stop him, a historic preservation group told the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a filing that tees up the high court to decide the fate of the 90,000-square-foot facility, the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States on Tuesday blasted the White House for expediting construction even after two lower courts said the administration was probably violating the law.
Rather than obtain congressional authorization for the project, the administration “instead decided to try to outrun judicial review,” the group argued. The National Trust is a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to preserve and promote the country’s architectural and cultural heritage.
Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene on Friday, pulling the justices into a highly symbolic clash over his efforts to unilaterally remake the aesthetics of the nation’s capital. If completed, the ballroom addition would be larger than the White House mansion and West Wing combined, with a security bunker underneath. Trump demolished the East Wing to make way for the ornate structure.
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Trump told the Supreme Court he is building a “highly integrated military complex that incorporates a classical, but highly secured, ballroom and crucial national-security facilities.”
A federal appeals court decision blocking most above-ground construction is set to take effect Friday unless the Supreme Court puts the ruling on hold.
The case is National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, 26a203.
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