President Donald Trump’s plans to construct a massive ballroom at the White House was approved Thursday by the National Capital Planning Commission, just days after a federal judge ruled that his administration would need congressional approval for construction to continue.
The 12-person panel, which last year was packed with Trump allies after he fired all appointees tapped by former President Joe Biden, voted 8-1 to approve the project. Two panel members voted “present.”
Phil Mendelson, a Democrat and the chair of the Council of the District of Columbia, voted against the ballroom, which would sit where the East Wing used to be. “It’s just too large,” Mendelson said.
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The commission was set to review the ballroom plans last month, though the meeting was delayed due to a flood of public comments, most of which were firmly against the new ballroom.
Thursday’s approval sets up a likely legal battle after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to halt construction on the project. He sided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued Trump in December for violating historic preservation laws and bypassing congressional approval before demolishing the East Wing.
Leon gave the administration 14 days to to appeal, which it did almost immediately.
Trump insisted during a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he does not need congressional approval to continue construction on the ballroom, citing previous presidents’ renovations to the White House.
“He said we need congressional approval. They don’t get congressional approval for the White House when they do things, especially when we didn’t ask for any tax money,” Trump said. “We built many things at the White House over the years. They don’t get congressional approval when they build in the White House. It’s totally separate, and especially when it’s a donation.”
In Leon’s ruling, the judge said he would “exclude construction necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House from the scope of the injunction.”
Trump apparently saw this as a way to keep building — after all, he said the ballroom would have a drone-proof roof and bullet- and ballistic-proof glass, as well as a massive military complex underground.
The ballroom, expected to cost $400 million and funded via private donations, is expected to be 90,000 square feet and have a nearly 1,000-person capacity.
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