sábado, 13 de dezembro de 2025
sexta-feira, 12 de dezembro de 2025
Trump sued by preservation group over $300m White House ballroom project
Trump
sued by preservation group over $300m White House ballroom project
National
Trust looks to halt construction, claiming Trump tore down historic East Wing
without needed permission
Joseph
Gedeon in Washington
Fri 12
Dec 2025 21.22 CET
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/12/lawsuit-trump-white-house-ballroom
Donald
Trump is facing a federal lawsuit seeking to halt construction on his $300m
White House ballroom, with historic preservationists accusing the president of
violating multiple federal laws by tearing down part of the iconic building
without required reviews or congressional approval.
The legal
challenge, filed on Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in
the US district court for the District of Columbia, represents the most
significant attempt yet to stop Trump’s 90,000-sq-ft addition to the White
House complex. The organization is seeking a temporary restraining order to
freeze all construction activities until proper federal oversight procedures
are completed.
“No
president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without
any review whatsoever – not President Trump, not President Joe Biden, and not
anyone else,” the complaint reads. “And no president is legally allowed to
construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the
opportunity to weigh in.”
The
organization, which was chartered by Congress in 1949 to facilitate public
participation in preserving sites of national significance, argues that Trump
rushed demolition of the historic East Wing in October over objections from
preservationists who urged the White House to pause and submit plans to federal
review panels.
The
lawsuit names Trump and several administration officials as defendants, and it
alleges violations of the national capital planning act, the national
environmental policy act, and the constitution’s property clause, which
reserves oversight of federal property to Congress.
It’s also
the second legal challenge to the ballroom project, following the dismissal of
an emergency motion in October by Virginia couple Charles and Judith Voorhees
to stop the demolition.
Multiple
polls have shown significant public opposition to the ballroom project. A
Washington Post-ABC News survey found 56% of Americans oppose tearing down the
East Wing for the ballroom, with only 28% supporting it. A separate Yahoo
News-YouGov poll showed 61% disapproval of the ballroom plans, with
particularly strong opposition – 46% strongly disapproving compared to just 18%
strongly approving.
The $300m
project is being funded by wealthy people and large corporations with federal
government contracts, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Lockheed Martin and
Palantir Technologies. The administration released only a partial list of
contributors while giving others anonymity.
Officials
have attempted to draw a difference between construction on White House
grounds, which they acknowledge requires federal review, versus demolition and
site preparation, which they say does not. However, the National Trust argues
that distinction is meaningless, as pictures of massive construction machinery
and teams working regularly on site have been seen across social media.
The
president also previously said he is not bound by typical building
restrictions. “They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House. You’re the president
of the United States, you can do anything you want,’” Trump said at an October
dinner celebrating the ballroom’s donors.
Steven
Cheung, assistant to the president and director of communications, dismissed
criticism from the National Trust in October on X by characterizing its leaders
as “loser Democrats and liberal donors”.
Leaked documents claim 'US wants to convince four countries to quit EU' in bid to 'Make Europe Great Again'
Leaked
documents claim 'US wants to convince four countries to quit EU' in bid to
'Make Europe Great Again'
US
President Donald Trump has branded European leaders "weak."
11 Dec
2025, 15:24
Updated:
20h ago
https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/trump-eu-make-europe-great-again-5HjdPH2_2/
Donald
Trump is allegedly attempting to persuade four countries to quit the European
Union as part of his plan to “Make Europe Great Again.”
According
to a leaked version of the Trump administration’s US national security
strategy, the White House is planning to call on Austria, Hungary, Italy and
Poland to quit the EU.
The
plans, leaked by US defence website Defense One, also suggest the US is
attempting to create a new elite of five “Core” countries, known as the C5, to
replace the G7.
These
countries would be the US, China, India, Japan and Russia.
Elsewhere
in the leaked documents, US officials warned of “civilisational erasure” in
Europe, caused by mass immigration and multiculturalism.
The White
House claims the documents are false.
However,
this alleged leak comes just days after Mr Trump launched his most scathing
attack on European leaders to date, branding them “weak.”
“I think
they are weak,” Mr Trump told POLITICO.
“But I
also think that they want to be so politically correct.”
“I think
they don’t know what to do. Europe doesn’t know what to do.”
The US
President accused European leaders of “talking too much” and failing to deliver
on the war in Ukraine, as he demanded Volodymyr Zelenskyy “get his act
together.”
“Frankly,
it wouldn’t have happened if I had been president—and it didn’t happen during
my four years in office,” he said, echoing a point he has made on numerous
occasions.
“I think
if I weren’t president, we would have had World War III.”
He said
Russia was in a “much better” position than Ukraine, as he accused Mr Zelenskyy
of using the war to prevent elections taking place in Ukraine.
