In the spring, the National Trust for Historic Preservation went to court in the hopes of blocking one of Donald Trump’s highest priorities: construction of his beloved White House ballroom vanity project. To the president’s great frustration, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled in the organization’s favor.
Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in his order that the president of the United States is the “steward of the White House for future generations of First Families,” adding, “He is not, however, the owner!” The jurist concluded that such an endeavor requires congressional approval, not the unilateral whim of the president.
Naturally, the Republican and his lawyers appealed, although this failed, too. MS NOW reported:
A federal appeals court blocked the Trump administration from continuing construction on the White House ballroom, ignoring its argument that the project is crucial for national security. The court ruled that the construction project was unlawful because the administration bypassed congressional authorization. […]
In a 2-1 ruling, the court affirmed the preliminary injunction against further above-ground construction.
In a 136-page decision, the court’s majority wrote, “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.”
The ruling continued, “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence. The President has no … constitutionally assigned authority over that property, which is designed and maintained for the use of all Presidents, current and future, and for the American people. … Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”
To the surprise of no one, Trump issued a statement condemning the ruling and making clear he’ll take the matter to the Supreme Court. What was notable about the president’s reaction, however, was how he chose to describe the project he’s been obsessed with for months.
In an item published to his social media platform, the Republican wrote, “Two Obama and Biden Appellate Court Judges just voted against the desperately needed Military Center, required for the National Security of Washington, D.C., and our Country, itself.”
Yes, the White House ballroom apparently has been upgraded with a new name. It’s now the White House “military center.”
Trump has been heading in this direction for a while now, there’s no great mystery as to why. As a political and legal matter, the president seems to think it’s tougher to oppose a project that’s billed as a national security initiative than it is to push back against giant venue for social gatherings.
So Trump started arguing in the spring that the ballroom wouldn’t be merely a ballroom, it would also be a “sophisticated” drone facility. In fact, he started promoting images to suggest the ballroom’s roof, which he labeled a “drone port,” would be a launchpad for military drones.
Why was it necessary for the White House complex to have its own “drone port”? To what locations, exactly, would these drones be deployed? Why couldn’t the administration use the roof of some other nearby building? Trump didn’t say, but he nevertheless continued to argue that the ballroom was “being built for the United States Military.”
The “Military Complex,” he added earlier this week, “will provide the highest level of Defense, Offense, and Safety for the people of Washington, D.C., and for, importantly, future Presidents.”
It’s entirely possible that the president heard about all of the other Cabinet secretaries who moved into housing on military bases, got jealous and decided to pretend that the White House is now a military base, too.
Nevertheless, Trump’s rebranding list continues to grow. The Defense Department is now supposed to be called the “Department of War,” the Gulf of Mexico is now supposed to be called the “Gulf of America,” the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now supposed to be called the “working families tax cuts” — and his ballroom project is now the “Military Center.”
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