Federal Appeals Court Tells Trump Bye Bye Ballroom

The Trump Vanity Program has just taken another hit and it’s a big one. How big? Around 90k square feet of would be ballroom size.  As you know, Trump tore down the historic East Wing so fast there wasn’t time to stop it so he could erect what he was bound to name the Trump WH Ballroom.  It would have been truly Trumpian. A tacky-assed monstrosity of marble and gold. Alas, a federal appeals court has issued a blistering ruling stopping it. For history’s sake it should be named (with apologies to the original Bye Bye Birdie) the “Bye Bye Ballroom” decision.

I wrote yesterday about how the world views Trump, as in seeing what most of us (and Trump’s every dropping approval ratings prove it) have come to understand – Trump has spent his second term trying to see just how much he can get away with.  While he’s gotten away (so far) with a breathtaking amount of grifting to make himself as rich as he’d long claimed to be when it comes to his trying to remake the White House and DC itself in his image/to his gaudy/tacky taste he is running (or in his case waddling) into roadblocks. Either hiring incompetent people to ‘git er done’ in Larry the Cable Guy fashion or having federal judges/courts shut him down.

Some it the judicial slap-downs have really hurt Trump’s tissue paper thin fee-fees.  Having his name from the Kennedy Center hurt so much he still hasn’t allowed the tarp put up to hide the removal work taken down!  But he overstepped his power because the law creating the place only allows Congress to change the name. Trump struck out in court.

But this time last year when he announced his grand plan to build what he said was the size and kind of ballroom this country (well, he really meant himself) needs he said the East Wing wouldn’t be touched.  Of course he lied and without going through any of the required steps tore it down.  Then, and again without bothering to go through the various steps needed to approve a design changing the nature of the historic White House he was breaking the law. So, as Reuters tells us once again he’s been slapped down by the courts:

“Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House,” and cannot fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval, the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a 2-1 opinion.

I enjoyed that part about the court formally pointing out “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House.’ That had to make Trump go into meltdown mode!  If they almost had to drag Trump (kicking and screaming) from the WH the last time since it’s clear he’s furiously working to be able to remain there as President forever what will it take when the time comes this time?  Of course, given his clearly declining health mother nature might decide to do her (long overdue) thing – and Trump will be wheeled out in a body bag and loaded into a hearse.  But I digress.

The appeals court order upheld a preliminary injunction issued in response to a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation last year. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon (appointed by former President George W. Bush) twice blocked above-ground construction on the site while allowing underground work to continue. In case you’d forgotten a whole new security/situation room setting is under construction.

I’m not sure why the old one was deemed inadequate.  If it didn’t have enough bling/gold crap hanging on the walls Trump could have just had it decorated like the Oval Office!  It’s probably a waste of taxpayer money to create a whole new SitRoom and the other stuff at taxpayer expense but maybe a whole new one ‘built by Trump’ would (as least he assumed) allow him to name IT after himself.  This is Trump after all and future Presidents having to take briefings in the ‘Donald J. Trump WH Security Complex’ likely appeals to him.  The main point however is that above ground construction was stopped. Now it will remain so, at least for now:

“Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” the panel’s majority wrote.

The appeals court placed its ruling on hold for 14 days to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

It should be noted the panel of the DC Circuit’s vote was 2-1. Circuit Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia two judges who voted for the issued opinion upholding the original injunction.  In addition to the part of their decision noted above they wrote:

National security arguments “are not an automatic get-out-of-law-free card,” the opinion said.

“The bold assertion that the Executive can act with utter lawlessness, destroying treasured national landmarks and harming the interests of individuals, and that no court can stop it flouts our constitutional order,” the judges wrote:

The one who dissented just by golly happens to be a Trump appointee. (Look out Judge Aileen “Loose” Cannon – you’ve got competition!) It seems things like federal laws outlining procedures that must be followed before making alterations to historic structures, and usurping Congress’ authority in such matters don’t seem to matter to the judge who dissented.  Like Cannon, it seems whatever her Trumpty wants, Trumpty gets – the law be damned:

Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, whom Trump appointed during his first term, said in her dissent that the trial judge’s injunction blocking the project “is beyond the proper province of the federal courts” and that construction should be allowed to continue.

“The district court seized supervision of construction at the White House, and my colleagues affirm this judicial overreach,” Rao wrote.

Trump will of course appeal. Sure, he could first ask for an en banc hearing (ALL the judges at the Circuit level) but it would take time and since the law is pretty straightforward Trump would lose.  So as noted he’s got 14 days to do what he’d wind up doing in any case which is run whining to SCOTUS about those meanie lesser judges who won’t let him do whatever the hell he wants to do.

Of course SCOTUS has no obligation to entertain yet another Trump appeal.  Even some of the six Federalist Society GROOMED Justices are sick of Trump running to them over and over again.  It takes four Justices to vote to Certiorari (agree to hear a case) and while Thomas and Alito would surely want to do so I rather doubt they can get two of the others on board.  So cross your fingers. Maybe, just maybe SCOTUS will take a quick look and issue a quick statement via the clerk.  The standard , and in cases like this one beautiful words single line saying “The Petitioner’s request for Certiorari is denied.”

If THAT happens and if Democrats can retake not just the House but also the Senate they should pass a bill that orders the rebuilding of the former East Wing once the underground portion of the current work is completed.  I’d like to see it include a provision requiring an outside auditor be appointed by the courts to determine how much private money has actually been raised for the project and even more importantly how much has been spent – compared to how much taxpayer money has been spent.   An additional provision requiring any funds not used be repurposed to rebuilding the East Wing would probably get challenged in court by at least some of the donors so that’s probably a step too far.

Trump of course will never sign it, nor will he just stick it in the drawer for ten days and allow it to become the law.  No, he will have to VETO it.  The reason this is worth doing is it will put Congressional Republicans who will already be back on their heels trying to regroup in a tough spot.  Do they vote to overrride?  If they don’t Democrats can make their candidates pay come 2028.

For now I think I’ll be playing with a rewrite (beyond the title) to the lyrics of Bye Bye Birdie.

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