‘We don’t believe we have to go Congress’: A federal appeals court ruled Trump needs Congress’s approval for his ballroom, but Blanche disagrees

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Trump administration disagrees with a federal appeals court ruling that found President Donald Trump needs approval from Congress to continue building his White House ballroom. Blanche made the comments during an interview on Fox News Sunday.

A D.C. circuit court panel ruled 2-1 to pause the ballroom project for now. Blanche said the administration believes it already has the legal authority to move ahead without going back to Congress.

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream asked Blanche directly why the administration does not simply seek approval from Congress instead of contesting the ruling, reports Mediaite.

Blanche says congress already gave approval for White House renovations

Bream read part of the court’s ruling during the interview. The ruling stated that the decision “doesn’t necessarily mean the defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom.” It added that the administration “may not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization as the Constitution and laws require.” Bream then asked Blanche, “Why not just go to Congress?”

“We don’t believe we have to go Congress,” Blanche said. “We believe congress has already given us the authority to do what we’re doing. Many presidents have done a tremendous amount of work to the White House, as they should, and congress has authorized them to do so. So we have a fundamental disagreement with those two judges.”

Blanche pointed to past presidents who made changes to the White House, saying Congress had already granted approval for that kind of work. He said this existing approval covers the ballroom project as well. The appeals court ordered a halt to construction earlier this month, a decision Trump publicly objected to at the time.

He also referred to an emergency filing the Trump administration made with the Supreme Court on Friday. According to Blanche, the filing argues that stopping construction would pose a threat to national security. The filing states that the ballroom is about two-thirds finished. Under the court’s current order, work on the project is set to stop on August 21 unless the Supreme Court rules in the administration’s favor before then.

Blanche said Trump believes he has the legal right to continue the project. “He has the authority to do this, and he said that because he absolutely does have the authority to do this,” Blanche said. “And we’re hopeful that the Supreme Court recognizes that so we can get the ballroom finished as soon as possible.”

Blanche also connected the ballroom project to comments Trump made after an assassination attempt against him at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April. Trump had described the ballroom as a security necessity at the time, saying the new venue would be safer than existing spaces.

“Yes it is a ballroom, but it’s also a meaningful upgrade and necessary part of the security of this city and the president and his family,” Blanche said. He added that the project is meant to help protect “the president, his family, guests, world leaders” while they are in Washington, D.C.

The case now moves to the Supreme Court, where justices will decide whether to let the appeals court’s pause stand or allow construction to continue while the underlying lawsuit is still being argued in lower court.