Legal Af
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Trump RAGES as Ballroom Project FALLS APART!!!
Posted
August 19, 2026
Views
39,040
Likes
3,330
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August 19, 2026
39,040
3,330
251
9.17%
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9:58Now PlayingAttorneys Brian Kabateck and Shant Karnikian break down the DC Circuit's 2-1 ruling blocking President Trump from completing his $400 million, 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, built on the site of the demolished East Wing without congressional approval. Writing for the majority, Obama appointee Judge Patricia Millett — joined by Biden appointee Judge Bradley Garcia — wrote that "each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House," and that no president in American history has "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 upholds U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's injunction halting above-ground construction while allowing underground work, including a bunker, to continue. Brian digs into the dissent from Trump-appointed Judge Neomi Rao, who argued the project falls within the president's statutory authority for White House "improvements" and that stopping now — after the East Wing is already demolished — creates a security vulnerability, a rationale Brian calls "ask forgiveness, not permission." Brian and Shant then turn to what almost nobody's talking about: Article III standing. If the Supreme Court wants an off-ramp that avoids ruling on the merits — where Brian thinks the administration loses outright — it could find that the National Trust for Historic Preservation lacks standing to sue, leaving the door open only to Congress or individual members with White House funding oversight. Trump says he'll appeal to the Supreme Court within the court's 14-day window. Brian's bottom line: this ruling could just as easily protect the next Democratic president's building plans, so Republicans cheering a loss for Trump today might come to regret setting this precedent.
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