Overview
- U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s request for a preliminary injunction, saying the White House office managing the project is not an APA “agency,” so the challenge was brought under the wrong law.
- Leon said the Trust could amend its complaint to raise an ultra vires claim directly contesting the president’s authority to build with private funds and without congressional approval, pledging to consider such a filing expeditiously.
- Construction continues for now on the roughly 90,000‑square‑foot, about $400 million addition on the site of the demolished East Wing, with government filings indicating above‑ground work is projected to start in April.
- The Commission of Fine Arts has approved the design, and the National Capital Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing and vote for March 5 as administrative review proceeds in parallel.
- The White House says the project uses private donations with no taxpayer funding; donors named in disclosures and reports include companies such as Palantir, Lockheed Martin and Meta, with the Trust for the National Mall managing contributions and watchdogs pressing for transparency.