President Donald Trump’s efforts to renovate and demolish historic buildings around Washington, D.C., are now running into lawsuits from locals, reported the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.
This comes after Trump drew nationwide controversy by razing the East Wing of the White House to build a massive ballroom more than double the size of the presidential mansion itself — financed by donations from corporate backers who theoretically could have business with the government. Trump has recently defended this construction project by claiming it is necessary for national security.
“It was when Trump unveiled plans to put a coat of white paint on one of the neighboring buildings — the ornate, 19th-century Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the West Wing — that he began to run into more concerted resistance,” said the report. “Preservationists have sued to stop him from painting the gray granite facade. Last week, that litigation sparked further unease that Trump is targeting other historic landmarks in the city, including buildings with priceless murals.”
“Then a leading preservation organization filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to stop Trump’s ballroom from being built until Congress has signed off on the project plans,” said the report. “At a packed court hearing Tuesday, a judge said he was unlikely to issue an emergency order blocking the construction project for now since the government said it is planning to let a federal commission review the plans by the end of the month.”
However, the judge went on to warn the Trump administration not to do work that would lock in the size of the ballroom until the legal issue has been resolved.
“The court proceedings caused a stir after the plaintiffs submitted a sworn declaration from a former GSA official who said the White House is soliciting bids to demolish several historic office buildings in Washington,” noted the report. The claimed targets included a Brutalist structure that houses the Department of Housing and Urban Development and two buildings that contain historically important murals inside that were commissioned during the New Deal era.”
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