Overview
- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument on Friday over whether courts can block construction of President Trump’s planned $400 million ballroom.
- Justice Department lawyer Yaakov Roth argued the courts lack authority to enjoin the work once it is underway and said that only Congress could stop the project, a position that included agreeing with a hypothetical that a government action done 'very quickly' could be beyond judicial remedy.
- Two judges on the panel pressed skeptical questions about that argument and about when the work became a fait accompli, and the court left the appeal undecided at the end of the hearing.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued after the East Wing demolition, and a U.S. district judge ordered on April 16 that aboveground work be halted while some belowground security work could continue.
- The case raises broader separation-of-powers questions because the White House says the project includes urgent security upgrades and has sought federal funds that Congress has resisted, and legal commentators say the DOJ view would undercut routine judicial review of executive actions.