by
Heather
Diehl/Getty
Images)
If
you’ve
been
following
the
slow-motion
legal
trainwreck
that
is
Donald
Trump’s
East
Wing–turned–ego
monument,
then
yesterday’s
preliminary
injunction
wasn’t
a
shock.
Because
from
jump,
Judge
Richard
Leon
has
been
all
but
skywriting
his
conclusion.
The
case
brought
by
the
National
Trust
for
Historic
Preservation
over
the
Trump
administration’s
unilateral
demolition
of
the
East
Wing
of
the
White
House
to
build
a
$400
million
White
House
ballroom
—
funded
privately
—
with
exactly
zero
Congressional
approval
or
oversight.
And
now,
after
months
of
increasingly
incredulous
benchslaps,
Leon
has
finally
done
the
obvious,
granting
the
plaintiff
a
preliminary
injunction
halting
further
work
on
the
ballroom
project,
making
crystal
clear
that
(shocker!)
presidents
do
not,
in
fact,
get
to
freestyle
renovations
on
national
landmarks
like
they’re
flipping
a
condo.
Back
in
March,
Leon
—
a
George
W.
Bush
appointee,
not
exactly
a
card-carrying
member
of
the
Resistance
—
was
already
openly
skeptical
of
the
administration’s
“of
course
the
president
can
do
whatever
he
wants
to
the
White
House”
theory.
He
called
the
government’s
arguments
“brazen.”
He
questioned
whether
demolishing
the
East
Wing
could
possibly
be
described
as
an
“alteration.”
He
reminded
everyone,
repeatedly,
that
the
White
House
is
“an
iconic
symbol
of
this
nation,”
not
a
personal
playground.
So
when
Leon
finally
ruled,
the
opinion
had
a
real
“are
you
fucking
kidding
me
right
now?”
vibe.
Leon
wrote,
“no
statute
comes
close
to
giving
the
President
the
authority
he
claims
to
have.”
And
he
slapped
the
president’s
attempt
at
self-aggrandizement,
writing,
“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
went
on
to
swat
away
the
government’s
desperado
move
of
claiming
a
delay
in
the
ballroom
project
would
“imperil
national
security
and
expose
the
White
House
to
damage,”
writing
that’s
just
“grasping
for
straws.”
Of
course,
this
decision
might
not
shield
the
nation
from
whatever
gold
covered
monstrosity
Trump
has
in
mind
for
the
East
Wing.
Leon
makes
it
clear
that
with
Congressional
approval,
the
project
can
move
forward.
Plus
there’s
the
appellate
process,
the
Department
of
Justice
has
already
filed
its
appeal
of
the
ruling.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].