On December 12, 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration to halt construction of a privately funded $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom replacing the demolished East Wing of the White House.
The suit alleges violations of multiple laws, including bypassing required reviews by federal commissions, environmental assessments, public input, and congressional approval. Nevertheless, demolition began in October 2025. The White House defends the project as within presidential authority for renovations, similar to predecessors, and plans are expected to be submitted for review soon.
As could be expected, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s hysterical lawsuit began with unhinged rhetoric about President Trump and the ballroom. “No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the document said.
Doubling down on these tenuous claims, the suit alleged, “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in. The President, acting unilaterally, is wholly without constitutional authority to build or demolish anything on federal Grounds.”
Firing back, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle dismantled these arguments with ease in a pithy statement. “President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House – just like all of his predecessors did,” Ingle noted.
Adding another unhinged statement, Carol Quillen, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, wrote, “The White House is arguably the most evocative building in our country and a globally recognized symbol of our powerful American ideals. As the organization charged with protecting places where our history happened, the National Trust was compelled to file this case.”
It was in a breaking and fun post to Truth Social earlier this year that President Trump delved into the reasons for the renovation. “I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken on the White House grounds to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom,” he posted.
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Providing more context, the president posted, “Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized as part of this process, and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete! For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc.”
Supporting these arguments, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared, “The White House is currently unable to host major functions honoring world leaders in other countries without having to install a large and unsightly tent approximately 100 yards away from the main building’s entrance.”
However, infamous woke activists, such as Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), have made it clear that they want this renovation halted. “Don’t even think of seeking the Democratic nomination for president unless you pledge to take a wrecking ball to the Trump Ballroom on DAY ONE,” he spitefully stated. “Or, as @RubenGallego proposes, rename it the Barack Obama Ballroom. But a Trump monument to corruption will not stand.”