The exact thing former New York City Real Estate Donald was racing against …
HAS stopped him….
A Federal judge pointing out that Donald J. Trump IS ONLY a tenet in the Nation’s Home/Office for the President…
As such?
He should be asking the Landlord….
The United States Congress for permission to make adjustments to property…
Especial since he went ahead and DESTROYED Government property by trying hire his own people to be the landlords agents?
Time is NOT on his side….
Trump’s immediate response was to refute, in a Truth Social post, the premise that he needed Congress’ permission to proceed, and his administration is now appealing the ruling in court….
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But if Trump’s appeal fails, congressional Republicans will have to choose between trying to pass a bill that would give the White House clear authority to forge ahead or risk allowing delays in the project that already had a target completion date of 2028 — not long before the end of Trump’s term.
Mike Davis, a conservative judicial activist who is close to the White House, said in an interview Republicans “need to” take action.
“Are they just going to let the ballroom just sit there in disarray … they’re just going to let the construction zone be a fucking disaster for the next three years?” Davis added. “Like, come on.”
But most Republicans who sit on committees with direct jurisdiction of White House and public property matters have so far been silent on whether they’ll shepherd through legislation to protect one of Trump’s top priorities. Doing so could put them in the crosshairs of Democrats, who have already made clear they think the ballroom is proof the president cares more about entertaining wealthy donors than passing policies to lower the costs of everyday goods — and who, in the Senate, have the ability to block any ballroom authorization measure from ever reaching Trump’s desk….
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But privately, Republicans are not yet convinced they need to get involved now, given it’s an ongoing legal battle and lawmakers already have a full plate of issues to attend to in the immediate future — including ending the DHS shutdown, reauthorizing controversial spy powers and meeting Trump’s deadline for delivering a GOP-only immigration enforcement bill.
Asked if the administration would push for Congress to pass legislation to remove any doubt or chance of delay, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle offered a statement critical of the court ruling.
“President Trump clearly has the legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House — just like all of his predecessors did,” said Ingle in a statement. “We will immediately appeal this egregious decision and are confident we will prevail.”…
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Trump’s lawyers have argued there are historical precedents for his White House ballroom project, which U.S. District Judge Richard Leon directly addressed in his ruling. But while smaller projects such as Trump’s 2019 tennis pavilion “were never challenged in court,” major expansions in 1933 and 1942 — which included construction of the East Wing Trump is seeking to replace — were authorized “through general appropriations,” Leon wrote.
And a significant White House renovation under President Harry Truman was authorized and funded in a standalone 1949 law that prohibited any “change of [the] present architectural appearance of the exterior of the mansion or the interior of its main floor.”….
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