U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing ahead at full speed with construction of a "White House banquet hall," which began without congressional approval and has ignited an illegality controversy. Despite a federal court order to halt work, a large workforce has been poured onto the site in what appears to be an attempt to complete as much of the building as possible before the judiciary rules.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th (local time), the Trump administration said in documents filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that the $400 million (560 billion won) banquet hall project is already about 65% complete. The site has 250 workers on a "7 days a week, 20 hours a day" schedule running nonstop. As the frame for five underground levels and a 21-meter-above-ground structure enters the final stage, the administration plans to install 453 tons of rebar and pour an additional 2,294㎥ of concrete this week alone.
Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, told the Supreme Court, "The project has already crossed the Rubicon," and argued, "It is built with nuclear power plant-grade concrete, so even if the Supreme Court orders demolition, there is no physical way to dismantle the building."
Laurence Tribe, Harvard University professor emeritus of constitutional law, noted, "The calculation is to make completion an irreversible reality and neutralize the court's brake."
The clash began in Oct. last year when President Trump abruptly tore down the White House East Wing, built during World War II, without congressional approval. The plan was to build a lavish 8,270㎡ banquet hall that could hold about 1,000 people, but controversy over legality exploded after it became known that the project would be funded with private donations from corporations such as Google, Amazon and Palantir.
Ultimately, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) filed for a preliminary injunction to stop construction in Dec. last year. At the end of Mar., the trial court ordered a halt to above-ground work, and on the 7th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also upheld the lower court ruling, finding an abuse of authority by the administration.
At the time, the appellate panel said, "Whether to build a large banquet hall is for Congress to decide, not something the administration can handle at its own discretion," and judged, "Every president is not the owner of the White House, the 'people's house,' but merely a tenant staying there temporarily."
The court, however, recognized only national security-related work such as the underground bunker as an exception and stayed the effect of the ruling for 14 days to allow the administration to appeal.
Behind the administration's acceleration is the 14-day grace period. Because the appellate court's order halting above-ground work takes effect on the 22nd, the move is seen as an attempt to complete as much of the above-ground frame as possible in the meantime, thereby neutralizing any stay or demolition order from the court.
At the same time, the administration is mounting a full-court press before the Supreme Court under the banner of "security." U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in Supreme Court arguments, "The president is not a mere tenant but the head of the executive branch," and said, "The banquet hall is a bullet- and blast-resistant facility capable of withstanding missile and drone attacks, as well as a command-and-control facility that is an essential national security installation inseparable from the underground military bunker."
President Trump criticized the court rulings, saying, "This complex is to protect future presidents," and, "It is the illegal rulings made for political reasons that are the threat to national security."