Even conservatives see Trump's White House renovation as power grab

President Donald Trump’s decision to destroy the White House East Wing to build a ballroom displayed a “disregard for the rule of law,” declared the editor of a prominent right-leaning publication.

“That decision, which the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to pause in an emergency motion filed late on Friday, reflects Trump's tendency to do whatever he wants, regardless of what the law says,” wrote Jacob Sullum, senior editor at Reason Magazine, in a Monday editorial about the recent court ruling. He proceeded to review in detail the 35-page opinion issued by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in his preliminary injunction ordering Trump to stop his renovations to the White House.

Despite Trump’s "claims that Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to construct his East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds," Leon argued that "the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have." He concluded that "the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion."

Additionally Leon characterized Trump’s behavior toward the White House as that of an owner over his personal property, when in fact he is merely a tenant acting as steward over it.

“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” Leon said at the time, ultimately ordering that “unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"

“Maybe Trump's ballroom will fare better in the appeals court,” Sullum wrote. “Or maybe he will act on Leon's recommendation and obtain congressional approval. But his argument that no such permission is necessary, which relies on stretching a statute far beyond what its plain text can reasonably support, is of a piece with his attempts to rewrite other laws in service of his agenda.”

Sullum proceeded to explain how Trump has used flimsy interpretations of laws like the Alien Enemies Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to advance his controversial policies on issues like immigration and tariffs.

“In all of those cases, Trump encountered resistance from the judicial branch, including Trump-appointed judges and the Supreme Court,” Sullum wrote. “Trump's legally dubious power grabs also include freezing research grants to universities without going through the process required by statute; attempting to deport students based on speech that supposedly threatens U.S. foreign policy interests; and threatening to revoke broadcast licenses based on an understanding of ‘the public interest’ that precludes news coverage he views as unfair.”

Sullum concluded, “Trump's grandiose plan to build an unauthorized ballroom with a 40-foot ceiling that can accommodate 1,000 or more guests may seem trivial compared to the issues raised by his other acts of self-aggrandizement. But it reflects the same disregard for the rule of law and the separation of powers—principles that Trump views as annoying obstacles that can be overcome by the sheer assertion of one man's will.”

In addition to being rejected in court, Trump’s ballroom is also overwhelmingly unpopular. In over 9,000 pages of public comments responding to Trump’s demolition of the East Wing, Axios reported that "there were barely any supportive missives.” The negative comments included people describing it as an “eyesore,” an “abomination,” “appalling,” a “complete DISASTER,” and possibly “overwhelming” to the rest of the White House.

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