President Donald Trump is intensifying his fight over a proposed White House ballroom, lashing out at judges, Senate officials, and preservation advocates who have slowed one of his most prominent second-term building projects.
The president has made the ballroom a signature initiative, often elevating it above other priorities as he seeks to remake parts of official Washington. In recent weeks, he has pressed for the project to move forward despite court rulings, congressional resistance, and public opposition to the demolition of the East Wing, writes The Washington Post.
On Monday, Trump shared on Truth Social a Justice Department filing that closely echoed his own language and argued that recent violence near the White House showed why the ballroom was needed for secure official events.
“Without the construction of this great Project, the President cannot safely conduct the business of the United States,” acting attorney general Todd Blanche and two other senior Justice Department officials wrote, urging a federal judge to lift an order that could stop work. “This is a terrible, tremendously harmful case to the United States of America, and all it stands for!”
The filing also criticized the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has sued to block the project. Trump posted the full six-page document online.
But the effort has run into resistance from the courts and Congress. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has twice ruled for the National Trust, blocking above-ground construction unless Congress explicitly authorizes the project. Leon described the administration’s reliance on private donations as a “Rube Goldberg” scheme designed to avoid congressional review.
A federal appeals court has temporarily paused that injunction. Oral arguments are scheduled for June 5.
Congress has not approved the project. Senate Republicans recently resisted efforts to include related security funding in a broader budget package, leaving the administration without a clear legislative path.
Trump has responded by attacking several of the figures involved. He has repeatedly described Leon online as an “out of control Trump Hating, Washington, D.C. District Court Judge,” despite the judge’s long conservative record. Speaking during Easter remarks, Trump said, “I have a lot of unfriendly judges. Somehow we seem to get by, but they’re not good people.”
The administration has argued that the ballroom is necessary because of recent security incidents, including a shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner last month and another outside the White House grounds over the weekend.
The public has shown little appetite for the plan. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 56 percent of Americans opposed tearing down the East Wing for a privately funded ballroom, while 28 percent supported it.
Most Republican leaders have avoided direct criticism of the ballroom. But some senators have signaled that the votes are not there to advance related funding. Democrats, meanwhile, have raised broader concerns that Trump is attempting to sidestep federal law as he pushes to reshape Washington, including work involving the Kennedy Center and other projects with rising costs.
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