GOP-appointed judge signals trouble ahead for Trump's White House makeover
Donald Trump's planned renovations of the White House have hit a major snag as a judge appointed by former President George W. Bush highlights fundamental problems.
The current president is hoping to carry on with a $400 billion ballroom project, and has also eyed up several other buildings on government property for remodeling. A tour of the White House found he had also added a presidential walk of fame, with an autopen in the place of Joe Biden's presidential portrait.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has said the projects Trump has at hand for the White House could prove contentious, and that the courts may rule against the president. Golfers, archivists and historians have all filed lawsuits against Trump over the planned renovations.
Leon has ruled for Trump in the past, but a recent statement shared by The Hill implied he may be at the end of the road for his support of Trump's project. He said, "There is no track record of this ever being done."
The judge went on to call Trump a "steward" of the "iconic symbol" building, suggesting Trump cannot just change the interior and exterior as easily as he would want to.
Those bringing lawsuits against Trump have accused the president of shielding his project from judicial review. Thaddeus Heuer, a lawyer for the preservationists, added, "What they can't do here is have it both ways."
Leon's opinion of the renovations has seemingly changed since his previous ruling. He had ruled that the ballroom challengers couldn’t bring such a suit because Trump and the Office of the Executive Residence aren’t agencies.
The Trump administration has argued that plaintiffs cannot be involved in the review process as the projects are mere "concepts" at this time.
It comes after Trump found that three appointments he made to the National Capital Planning Commission lacked the expertise legally required for the position.
Trump's three picks, White House staff secretary Will Scharf, White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, and OMB associate director Stuart Levenbach, were announced earlier this week.