The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to pause a judge’s order that temporarily halted construction of a new White House ballroom, placing national security at the center of its argument as it sought emergency relief. In a motion filed Friday, National Park Service lawyers said the judge’s stop creates “threatening grave national-security harms to the White House, the President and his family, and the President’s staff.” The Associated Press reported the filing was seeking an appeals-court decision by Friday.
In the motion, the government urged that “Time is of the essence!” and argued that planned installations would be used to build a “heavily fortified” facility. The ballroom construction, according to the filing, includes bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility, and is tied to the administration’s plan to quickly reshape Washington, the AP said.
The request came after U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington ordered the temporary pause of the construction project in a ruling issued on Tuesday. Leon concluded that the preservationist groups suing to stop the work were likely to succeed on the merits because, as the AP reported, “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.” He later suspended enforcement of his own order for 14 days because the administration would appeal, and he acknowledged that halting an ongoing project could create logistical problems.
Leon also addressed national security in his ruling. The AP said he reviewed information the government privately submitted to him and concluded that stopping construction would not jeopardize national security, while exempting any work he found necessary for the safety and security of the White House from the scope of the injunction.
The administration’s appeal and emergency request took place during the same week that a key agency approved the project. The AP said the approval followed a final vote by the agency responsible for construction on federal property in the Washington region, which the filing and ruling discussed alongside the litigation over whether Congress must approve the renovation plans.
In addition to seeking to keep the construction stop from taking effect, the Trump administration pointed to what it said would still be possible even under Leon’s approach. The AP reported that Trump criticized the ruling but said it would allow work on underground bunkers and other security measures around the White House grounds to continue, adding that such work would be paid for by taxpayers. The administration, meanwhile, has said it planned to cover the costs for the ballroom construction through private donors.
In its motion to the appeals court, the National Park Service argued that President Donald Trump has “complete authority to renovate the White House” and that the current condition of the grounds—described in court papers as an open construction site—would make protection more difficult if construction is halted. The filing argued that temporary “Canvas tents, which are necessary without a ballroom, are significantly more vulnerable to missiles, drones, and other threats than a hardened national security facility,” the AP said.
The government asked the appeals court to decide its request by Friday and also sought an extension of Leon’s 14-day suspension by an additional two weeks so the case could be taken to the Supreme Court.