"President Is Caretaker, Not Owner, of White House" Trump’s Banquet Hall Design Approved Despite Court Block

The $400 million (600 billion won) plan for the new White House banquet hall, promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump, received approval from the relevant administrative agency on the 2nd (local time). However, two days earlier, a court had issued an injunction stating that the construction cannot proceed without congressional approval, making the future of the construction project uncertain.

According to Yonhap News Agency on the 3rd, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which is responsible for approving construction plans on federal land in Washington, D.C., passed President Trump's 'East Wing Modernization Plan' the previous day by a vote of eight in favor and one against. The original White House East Wing at that location was abruptly demolished in October last year.

The scene of the East Wing banquet hall construction site at the White House on the 1st (local time). Photo by AP News

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Of the 12 commissioners, one was absent from this meeting, and among the 11 present, two were counted for quorum but abstained from voting. Will Scharf, the NCPC chairman and White House records secretary, explained before the vote that since the commission is only reviewing the design plan, the court order to halt construction is not understood to affect their proceedings.

Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Washington, D.C. City Council, was the only member to vote against the plan. He clarified, "I am not opposed to the banquet hall itself, but rather to its excessive size," adding, "The height of the banquet hall rivals that of the White House main building."

Previously, on March 31, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction to halt the construction of the White House banquet hall. In his 35-page ruling, Judge Leon used an exclamation mark 19 times, stating emphatically, "The President of the United States is the caretaker of the White House for future generations of presidential families. But he is not the owner!" He stressed that the President does not have the authority to alter the structure of the White House at will without explicit congressional approval. However, to allow the White House time to implement safety measures and prepare an appeal, he delayed the enforcement of the injunction by two weeks. As a result, construction continued at the White House even the day after the decision, on the 1st.

The banquet hall President Trump is seeking to build will cover about 8,400 square meters, with the estimated construction cost exceeding $400 million, all of which is to be funded by private donations. According to Bloomberg, the full list of donors has not been disclosed, but some names, such as Amazon, Google, Apple, Lockheed Martin, and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, have become known. This has sparked controversy that corporations and business leaders may be donating as a means of lobbying the Trump administration.

The Department of Justice has appealed the court’s decision to halt construction. However, it remains uncertain whether the banquet hall will be completed as President Trump envisions by the end of his term in January 2029. Some members of the opposition Democratic Party have suggested that the changes should be reversed in the event of a change in administration.

Meanwhile, after the court’s order to stop construction, President Trump attempted to circumvent the ruling by framing the construction plan as a matter of "national security," stating that various security facilities were being built in the basement of the banquet hall.

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