"No US president should be allowed to demolish part of the White House without undergoing any review process, whether it is President Donald Trump, Joe Biden or anyone else," the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) stated in a lawsuit filed with a federal court in Washington D.C. on 12/12.

The NTHP accuses President Trump and federal officials of violating laws by implementing a White House ballroom project without independent environmental, historical, and aesthetic impact assessments.

The laws cited by the NTHP include the National Capital Planning Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and regulations from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The nonprofit organization urged the court to halt construction until these assessments are completed.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the renovation project falls within the president's authority. Ingle stated, "President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House, as all of his predecessors have done."

Judge Richard Leon, appointed by former Republican President George W. Bush, will oversee the case. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing to consider the NTHP's request on the afternoon of 16/12.

Demolition work at the White House East Wing on 8/12. Photo: AFP

President Trump proposed the ballroom project in late July, with construction beginning on 20/10. The planned ballroom will span over 8,300 square meters, accommodating nearly 1,000 people, significantly more than the current 200-person capacity in the White House's existing event area.

The ballroom is set to replace the East Wing, a structure built in 1902 that served as the office of the US first lady. Satellite images show the entire East Wing of the White House has been demolished and leveled, contrary to Trump's earlier statement that the project would not affect the existing building.

This marks the most significant alteration to the White House's exterior since the East Wing's expansion in 1942 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At that time, a second floor was added to the East Wing, shielding the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, an underground bunker constructed beneath it.

By Nhu Tam (According to AP, CNN)