Queen Camilla and King Charles unlikely to see White House ballroom as judge rules construction ‘has to stop’

Over the weekend, President Trump invoked the King's forthcoming State Visit to demonstrate the necessity of the contentious £301million White House ballroom.

The 90,000-square-foot project saw the East Wing torn down last October. The White House is situated on federal parkland.

On March 28, the US President said: “I love construction. That’s a big dig. We’re building a ballroom.

“Every president has said, Can we have a ballroom please? A room where you could have a lot of people?

“So when the President of China, France, when somebody comes over from the UK, including the King, we have the King coming over very shortly, King Charles. So we can have, like, a large room? Because the White House is incredible, but it never had a ballroom.

“That’ll be the finest ballroom anywhere in the world when it’s completed. I love construction. I love building beautiful things.”

In a legal battle, the National Trust for Historic Preservation argued that the White House began construction without filing plans with the National Capital Planning Commission, did not seek an environmental assessment of the project, and declined to seek authorisation from Congress.

It also alleged President Trump was violating the US Constitution, "which reserves to Congress the right to dispose of and make all rules regarding property belonging to the United States".

The White House has defended the £302million project, claiming it is being funded entirely by private donors.

Judge Richard Leon today wrote: “I have concluded 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.

“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!”

Judge Leon warned that “any above-ground construction over the next fourteen days that is not in compliance” with his ruling “is at risk of being taken down depending on the outcome of this case.”

He added: “(U)nless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!

“The President may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct a ballroom and to do so with private funds.

“Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds for the ballroom, or at least decide that some other funding scheme is acceptable.

“Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation’s property and its oversight over the Government’s spending.

“And the American people will benefit from the branches of Government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles. Not a bad outcome, that!”

The judge added that he was delaying implementation of his ruling for two weeks, allowing the possibility for an appeal.

The President posted on social media moments after the judge’s ruling, calling the historic preservation group that brought the legal challenge a “Radical Left Group of Lunatics.”

The lawsuit, he said: “Doesn’t make much sense, does it?” Mr Trump did not address whether he planned to appeal.

The now-demolished East Wing was originally built in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and subsequently expanded in 1942 under Franklin Roosevelt.

On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace confirmed Queen Camilla and King Charles would travel to Washington DC to meet President Trump in April.

The US President declared the trip will be a “momentous occasion” in a post on his Truth Social site, adding that there would be “a beautiful Banquet Dinner” at the White House on the evening of April 28.