Trump sued by preservation group over $300m White House ballroom project

Donald Trump is facing a federal lawsuit seeking to halt construction on his $300m White House ballroom, with historic preservationists accusing the president of violating multiple federal laws by tearing down part of the iconic building without required reviews or congressional approval.

The legal challenge, filed on Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the US district court for the District of Columbia, represents the most significant attempt yet to stop Trump’s 90,000-sq-ft addition to the White House complex. The organization is seeking a temporary restraining order to freeze all construction activities until proper federal oversight procedures are completed.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever – not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, and not anyone else,” the complaint reads. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”

The organization, which was chartered by Congress in 1949 to facilitate public participation in preserving sites of national significance, argues that Trump rushed demolition of the historic East Wing in October over objections from preservationists who urged the White House to pause and submit plans to federal review panels.

The lawsuit names Trump and several administration officials as defendants, and it alleges violations of the national capital planning act, the national environmental policy act, and the constitution’s property clause, which reserves oversight of federal property to Congress.

It’s also the second legal challenge to the ballroom project, following the dismissal of an emergency motion in October by Virginia couple Charles and Judith Voorhees to stop the demolition.

Multiple polls have shown significant public opposition to the ballroom project. A Washington Post-ABC News survey found 56% of Americans oppose tearing down the East Wing for the ballroom, with only 28% supporting it. A separate Yahoo News-YouGov poll showed 61% disapproval of the ballroom plans, with particularly strong opposition – 46% strongly disapproving compared to just 18% strongly approving.

The $300m project is being funded by wealthy people and large corporations with federal government contracts, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Palantir Technologies. The administration released only a partial list of contributors while giving others anonymity.

Officials have attempted to draw a difference between construction on White House grounds, which they acknowledge requires federal review, versus demolition and site preparation, which they say does not. However, the National Trust argues that distinction is meaningless, as pictures of massive construction machinery and teams working regularly on site have been seen across social media.

The president also previously said he is not bound by typical building restrictions. “They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House. You’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want,’” Trump said at an October dinner celebrating the ballroom’s donors.

Steven Cheung, assistant to the president and director of communications, dismissed criticism from the National Trust in October on X by characterizing its leaders as “loser Democrats and liberal donors”.