Trump, after a court froze construction of the White House ballroom, cited a "national security threat" and announced an appeal
Kyiv • UNN
U.S. President Donald Trump said an appeal to the Supreme Court would be filed immediately after the Court of Appeals issued a ruling halting construction of the White House ballroom. Trump called the decision terrible, politically motivated, and illegal.
Following a U.S. court's decision to halt construction of the White House ballroom, President Donald Trump said that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would be filed immediately, UNN reports.
This decision, made after a significant portion of the work had already been completed and paid for, is a threat to national security of the highest level. It is also a national disgrace
In a post on Truth Social, Trump condemned the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, calling it "terrible, politically motivated, and illegal."
"We will immediately appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States," he wrote.
In another post, Trump also criticized the decision by the two judges, noting that one judge had been appointed by former President Barack Obama and the other by former President Joe Biden.
He particularly disputed the panel of judges' statement that "every president is a temporary tenant... of the White House," writing that presidents "are not tenants" but are elected by the American people and have the authority to "repair, reconstruct, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds."
Trump wrote: "The District Court's decision (...) seriously threatens the lives and well-being of the people who work and will work in the White House — including all future presidents of the United States and their families, as well as the lives of all visitors, such as heads of state and other high-ranking officials, and all Americans who wish to visit the historic, beautiful residence of the president."
He also accused the court of refusing to acknowledge that the ballroom, which he said was being built ahead of schedule and within budget, "is a gift from President Trump and the Great Patriots of the United States of America."
"American taxpayers will not incur any costs. This unjust decision must be overturned in its entirety by the Supreme Court," Trump wrote.
Update
On Friday, August 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision that halted above-ground construction of the proposed White House ballroom project, which replaced the demolished East Wing.
The earlier decision, Fox News notes, allowed work to continue on underground national security facilities and permitted certain security measures to be taken, and the higher court also upheld that decision.