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After a panel of federal judges ordered a halt to construction on the White House ballroom, President Donald Trump said he will immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a Truth Social post Friday, Trump decried the 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit as “horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful.”
In a subsequent Truth Social post Friday, Trump also blasted the two-judge majority, noting one judge was appointed by former President Barack Obama and the other by former President Joe Biden. He took particular issue with the panel’s statement that “Each President is a temporary tenant…of the White House,” writing that presidents “are not tenants” but are elected by the American people and have the authority to “fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds.”
TRUMP WARNS JUDGE AGAINST SACRIFICING NATIONAL SECURITY BY BLOCKING WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM, DRONE BASE
In his initial response to the decision earlier on Friday, Trump wrote: “The Circuit Court’s decision, which is totally wrong on the vital subject of STANDING, of which the plaintiff has none, severely jeopardizes the lives and welfare of the people who work, and will be working, at the White House — including all future Presidents of the United States, and their families, as well as the lives of all those visiting, such as Heads of State and other Dignitaries, and all Americans who wish to visit the historic, beautiful Executive Mansion.”
He also accused the court of refusing to acknowledge that the ballroom, which he said is being built ahead of schedule and under budget, “is a Gift from President Trump and Great Patriots of the United States of America.”
“There will be no expense to the American Taxpayer. This unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety,” Trump wrote.
The appeals court on Friday upheld a lower-court decision that paused above-ground construction of the proposed 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom project, which replaced the demolished East Wing.
The earlier ruling allowed work to continue on underground national security facilities and certain safety and security measures, a decision the higher court also upheld.
REPUBLICANS EYE PICKING UP $400M TAB FOR TRUMP’S BALLROOM AS SOME DEMS OPEN TO ‘DISCUSS’ IDEA
The appeals court said in its 136-page ruling that the decision to build a “massive ballroom” lies with Congress, not with the executive branch.
Trump argued the ruling itself “is a National Security Threat at the highest level” because much of the project has already been completed and paid for, calling the decision a “National Disgrace.”
Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia wrote the majority opinion, remarking that there is no precedent for what Trump has done.
“We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now,” they wrote.
The judges said their ruling does not prevent the president from building the ballroom if it is authorized by Congress in the future.
As Trump pointed out in his social media post, the ruling was stayed for 14 days to allow the defendants to seek a Supreme Court review.
It is not immediately clear if the Supreme Court will take up this case.
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