By [Devan Cole], [Betsy Klein]
1小时50分钟前
发布于2026年3月17日，美国东部时间下午5:44
2025年10月21日，白宫东翼外立面被施工人员拆除。Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
周二，特朗普政府为大规模白宫宴会厅项目辩护的主张在联邦法官面前几乎未获支持。法官似乎准备裁定，总统在未经国会批准的情况下开展建设，是规避了法律规定。
在资深美国联邦地区法官理查德·利昂（Richard Leon）主持的一场激烈听证会上，这位乔治·W·布什任命的法官多次对司法部提出的一系列论点泼冷水。司法部称，根据一系列联邦法律，总统唐纳德·特朗普有权在没有国会明确授权的情况下推进该项目。
利昂明确表示，他怀疑特朗普是否有权依据联邦法律推进该项目——该法律赋予总统“根据总统决定，对白宫进行‘改造’和‘改善’”的权力。
他周二对“将耗资4亿美元的宴会厅翻新工程和东翼拆除工程简单定义为‘改造’”的说法提出异议。
利昂称，将该项目称为“改造”是“对词汇法的厚颜无耻解读”。
他还驳斥了“白宫属于国家公园管理局管辖范围，且该局已批准该项目”的论点。
“这不是任何国家公园，”利昂表示，“这是这个国家的标志性象征。”
周二在华盛顿特区市中心联邦法院的法律辩论，是此案最新的戏剧性进展。几周前，利昂在一项高度技术性的裁决中驳回了美国国家历史保护信托基金（National Trust for Historic Preservation）的早期论点，允许该组织以不同的法律诉求重新提起诉讼。
他现在的裁决可能会产生重大影响：该组织要求法官下令，在获得国会批准前，阻止东翼旧址的任何进一步建设。利昂表示，他计划在3月底前作出裁决，同时指出败诉方很可能提起上诉。特朗普政府曾暗示，宴会厅的地面以上工程最早可能在4月启动。
“无论从哪个标准来看，只要向国会申请授权就会容易得多，”利昂曾斥责政府在本案中提出“不断变化的理论和动态”时说道。此案是去年由该国顶级历史保护组织提起的。
“他们似乎在寻找逃生口，”法官提到政府辩称该组织缺乏挑战特朗普项目的法律资格（即“诉讼资格”）时表示。利昂似乎在指出，一些诉讼方在基本论点可能站不住脚时，试图以程序理由驳回案件。
利昂对司法部声称该项目现在完全由国家公园管理局管理的说法更为不满——这意味着项目将受联邦法规约束，因此可由联邦法院审查其行为。
上个月的裁决中，法官表示他无法批准国家历史保护信托基金阻止该项目的请求，因为当时政府声称项目由白宫内部一个鲜为人知的办公室负责。他认定，该办公室不受相同法规约束。但周二利昂暗示，国家公园管理局明显参与项目监督，严重削弱了政府称该信托基金无权在法庭上阻止项目的论点。
“谁在主导这个项目？”利昂曾提高声音问道，“你们不能两面三刀。”
司法部律师雅各布·罗斯（Yaakov Roth）表示，白宫行政官邸“100%”主导该项目，而国家公园管理局的角色仅限于资金方面。
作为前房地产开发商的特朗普亲自参与了宴会厅细节设计，从平面图到大理石选择。据首席建筑师沙洛姆·巴兰（Shalom Baranes）介绍，宴会厅项目估计面积约为8.9万平方英尺，相比之下，白宫主体建筑（行政官邸）仅为5.5万平方英尺。
特朗普坚称，该项目不受任何监督，他应该能够在没有任何严格审查的情况下继续推进。他承诺项目将在2028年夏季完工，比他卸任提前数月。
Judge mocks White House East Wing ‘alteration’ as a ‘brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary’
By [Devan Cole], [Betsy Klein]
1 hr 50 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 17, 2026, 5:44 PM ET
The facade of the East Wing of the White House is demolished by work crews on October 21, 2025.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Trump administration’s arguments in defense of the massive White House ballroom project on Tuesday found virtually no purchase before a federal judge, who appears ready to rule that the president skirted the law by undertaking construction without congressional approval.
During a testy hearing before senior US District Judge Richard Leon, the George W. Bush appointee repeatedly threw cold water on a litany of arguments pushed by the Justice Department that President Donald Trump had authority under a series of federal laws to pursue the project absent express authorization from lawmakers.
Leon has made clear his doubt that Trump has the authority to move forward with the project under a federal law that gives a president the authority to “to undertake ‘alteration’ and ‘improvement’ of the White House, ‘as the President may determine.’”
He took issue on Tuesday with the idea that a sprawling $400 million ballroom renovation and the demolition of the East Wing marked a simple “alteration.”
Calling the project “an alteration,” Leon said, “takes some brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary.”
He also took aim at an argument that the White House falls under the National Park Service’s authority and that the Park Service has approved the project.
“This isn’t any national park,” Leon said. “This is an iconic symbol of this nation.”
The legal wrangling Tuesday at the federal courthouse in downtown Washington, DC, represented the latest dramatic episode in the case, unfolding several weeks after Leon rejected earlier arguments pushed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in a highly technical ruling that allowed them to come back to him with different legal claims.
How he rules now could prove extremely consequential: The group is asking the judge for an order that would block any more construction at the site of where the East Wing once stood pending congressional approval. Leon said he would plan to issue his decision by the end of March, while also noting that an appeal by the losing side was likely. The Trump administration has suggested that above-ground work on the ballroom could begin as soon as April.
“It would have been a heck of a lot easier by any standard to have just gone to Congress to get the authority to do it,” Leon said at one point as he scolded the government for pushing “shifting theories and shifting dynamics” in the case, which was brought last year by the nation’s top historic preservation group.
“They’re looking for an escape hatch, it seems,” the judge said, referring to the government’s argument that the group lacked the legal right – known as “standing” – to challenge Trump’s project at all. Leon appeared to be pointing to a bid by some litigants to get a case tossed out on procedural grounds when their underlying arguments are likely to fall flat.
Leon seemed even more troubled by the Justice Department’s assertion that the project was now being completely managed by the National Park Service, which would subject it to federal rulemaking laws and therefore make its conduct reviewable by federal courts.
In his ruling last month, the judge said he couldn’t grant the Trust’s request to block the project because, at the time, the administration claimed the project was being handled by a little-known office within the White House. That office, he decided, is not subject to that same rulemaking law. But the Park Service’s apparent role in overseeing the project, Leon intimated Tuesday, severely undercut their argument that the Trust could not go to court to block it.
“Who is directing this project?” Leon asked at one point, raising his voice. “You can’t have it both ways.”
Yaakov Roth, a Justice Department lawyer, said the White House Executive Residence was “directing 100%” of the project and that the Park Service’s role was specific to funding.
Trump, a former real estate developer, has been personally involved in ballroom details, from floor plans to marble selection. The ballroom project has an estimated size of approximately 89,000 square feet, according to lead architect Shalom Baranes. By contrast, the primary White House structure, the Executive Mansion, is just 55,000 square feet.
Trump has maintained that the project isn’t subject to any oversight and that he should be able to continue with it without any serious scrutiny. He has promised it will be complete in the summer of 2028, months before he leaves office.
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