Dem
47
GOP
53
Construction moves a lot faster than the courts. The East Wing of the White House is long gone and Donald Trump's ballroom is rising in its stead—for the moment. Look:
Now the courts are catching up. In a 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C., the judges ordered construction on the ballroom to stop. However, it may continue for 2 weeks to give the Supreme Court a chance to take the case. If the Supreme Court takes no action for 2 weeks, construction must stop. The appellate judges wrote: "Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval." Trump didn't get (or even ask for) congressional approval. The judges in the majority are Patricia Millett, a Barack Obama appointee, and Bradley Garcia, a Joe Biden appointee. Dissenting was Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee.
In his brief, Trump had argued that ballroom was needed for national security reasons, including being used for weapons to counter attacking drones. The majority opinion didn't accept that a ballroom was the only way to protect the president from drone attacks. The opinion said: "National security arguments are not an automatic-get-out-of-law card."
The current cost of the ballroom is estimated to be $400 million, but could go higher. Trump promised that it would be paid for by private donors. Nevertheless, he asked Congress to pony up the $400 million, which it has so far refused to do. (V)