WASHINGTON \u2014 A federal judge appears to be leaning toward hitting the pause button on the White House ballroom’s construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While U.S. District Judge Richard Leon did not rule from the bench Thursday, promising a decision next month, his comments during arguments left little doubt about what way he was leaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attorney Thad Heuer, representing the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation, a group that works to protect U.S. historic sites, argued that the president does not have the constitutional authority to tear down the East Wing of the White House and construct a ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not the owner\u201d of the White House, Heuer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leon appeared to agree, saying, \u201cHe\u2019s the steward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a great deal of discussion about the funding mechanism for the project. Leon compared it several times to a \u201cRube Goldberg Contraption,\u201d because of the novel way the Trump administration is avoiding direct congressional authorization for the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration cites several federal statutes \u2014 and hundreds of millions of dollars in private funding \u2014 to argue that the construction is legal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCongress does not hide elephants in mouse holes,\u201d Heuer suggested about several million dollars in congressional appropriations earmarked for \u201calterations and improvements\u201d that the Trump administration argues allows for the construction of a $400 million ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth, representing the Trump administration, said when he was asked why Trump didn\u2019t ask Congress for funding and therefore authorization to build, \u201cThe president didn\u2019t want $400 million in taxpayer money to be used for this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe wanted to use donations,\u201d Roth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NBCUniversal’s parent company, Comcast Corp., is among the donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roth also cited the White House pool President Gerald Ford built in 1975 and the White House Tennis Complex as two structures on the White House grounds that didn\u2019t get direct congressional authorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leon appeared skeptical of that line of argument. \u201cThe \u201970s Ford pool? You compare that to ripping down the East Wing?\u201d Leon asked. \u201cC\u2019mon, be serious.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roth claimed the Trump administration would be \u201cirreparably harmed\u201d if Leon were to order construction paused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre we going to suspend construction in the middle?\u201d Roth asked. He said a pause would expose the existing building to the elements and create national security concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for whether the White House bunker construction \u2014 which is ongoing underneath the ballroom site \u2014 could continue if the ballroom construction doesn\u2019t, Roth claimed, \u201cIt can\u2019t be divided that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roth nodded to the political limitations of the president\u2019s actions. \u201cNobody has touched the Executive Mansion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is the core site,\u201d Roth added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A White House official said this month that the administration is aiming for a final presentation of the ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n