Trump’s ballroom saga invokes national security threats

As President Trump strives to remake Washington in his image, his White House ballroom project stands apart. 

In court filings this week, his administration insisted that halting construction of the $400 million ballroom would amount to a national security threat — a departure from the broader claims of executive power undergirding other projects.  

It raises the stakes of the legal battle over whether the ballroom may be completed without prior congressional approval.  

“An indefinite delay jeopardizes the entire Project,” Justice Department lawyer Brantley Mayers wrote in a Thursday court filing.  

A federal judge last month ruled that construction must stop except where “necessary to ensure the safety and security” of the White House and the president. 

On Saturday, a federal appeals court said construction may continue for now but asked the judge to clarify the security exception he carved out of his order. 

The Trump administration says that the expansive East Wing makeover is “not cosmetic.”

The new ballroom will be made with missile-resistant steel columns, drone-proof roofing materials and bullet, ballistic and blast-proof glass, according to court filings. It will also house top secret military installations, medical facilities and bomb shelters. 

“These upgrades, alterations, and improvements to the dilapidated, infested, and structurally unsound prior East Wing, are essential to protecting the President, his family, and his staff, as well as the White House itself,” Mayers said, “and the entire project flows from them.” 

The East Wing’s demolition began in October with plans for the new ballroom, a nearly 90,000-square-foot space for state dinners, galas and other events. It is slated for completion by 2028 and is largely funded by private donors, the president has........

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