Donald Trump Sued Over East Wing Demolition

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Oct 24, 2025 at 08:27 AM EDT updated Oct 24, 2025 at 10:45 AM EDT


President Donald Trump is facing legal action over the demolition of the White House’s East Wing, part of a $300 million plan to build a new ballroom on the executive grounds.

A Virginia couple, Charles and Judith Voorhees, filed an emergency motion in federal court on Thursday, seeking to halt the project, alleging that it violates multiple federal preservation and planning laws. A White House spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday President Trump has "full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify" the building. Newsweek contacted attorneys for the couple for comment via email outside of normal office hours on Friday.

Why It Matters

The fight over Trump’s demolition project goes beyond a construction dispute—it’s a test of presidential power, public ownership, and historic preservation. The Voorhees lawsuit seeking to halt the project argues that Trump bypassed laws meant to protect national landmarks and public transparency.

At stake is whether a sitting president can unilaterally alter one of the country’s most symbolically important buildings, or whether the "People’s House" must remain subject to the same review and accountability standards that govern other federal projects.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-sued-east-wing-demolition-10931917

---

Link to FILING (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.286172/gov.uscourts.dcd.286172.1.0.pdf

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Good. Somebody's thinking.

Make it a class action. Demolishing part of one of the most important buildings in the entire world. Where fates of countries and wars were decided. Where Winston Churchill drank with FDR.

Developers are all the same. Contract and demolish, to hell with people, esthetics, zoning laws and regulations.

Nitwit.

[Mr.Bee]

25. Aw, He's Setting a Precedent!

This proves now we can rent a car or a company car and take it to a chop shop and get a custom job done on it.
Want a Convertible? Just demolish the roof, won't need it. I think three or four tone paint would look good,
and make sure none of them compliment each other. Hey look! I'm a car designer!

Or maybe now all Americans are allowed to modify their rented homes and apartments. Knock out those walls, folks!

[ReRe]

43. Bingo! Class Action is the first thing that popped into my mind! n/t

[Vinca]

47. The American People vs. Trump. That's perfect.

[Bev54]

60. Pretty sad though it has to be private couple doing that. Seriously there are a lot of

politicians, legal scholars, agencies etc who should have immediately taken up a lawsuit to stop this destruction.

[The Roux Comes First]

2. I Don't Believe We Have Ever Seen Any Evidence That This Piece of Detritus Has Ever

Taken any steps to "modernize, renovate, and beautify" anything, small or large, in his entire existence! He is all about self-glorification with not an iota of taste or class of any sort. Gilt pasties and glitter should never be in the same sentence with the quoted words, but they are the highest reach of his supposed skills.

[NYC Liberal]

3. Anyone who thinks he's going to stop with the East Wing is extremely naive.

He already lied about this.

It wasn’t going to touch the WH at all. Then it was just the facade of the East Wing. They demolished the entire East Wing.

It was going to cost $200 million. Now it’s up to $350 million.

He needs to be stopped.

[Botany]

16. "He needs to be stopped."

Yes, he does. Tearing down the East Wing was a mistake and an assault on America but
it should not be compounded by building a 90,000 sq. foot ballroom for an 80 year old
man who doesn’t dance.

This madness.

[KS Toronado]

31. He's good at dancing around questions.

[returnee]

62. I don't think so.

The press is bad at challenging him, even when he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

[MadameButterfly]

64. I saw him dancing (sort of)

through a whole cammpaign event

[Farmer-Rick]

57. Exactly

He claimed it was "just" the east wing. It wasn't.

It was the demolition of the East Wing, the colonnade and the Jacqueline Kennedy gardens. You can see in the aerial photos how much he bulldozed under. It's a bigger area than the area that remains undamaged. So for all practical purposes he has destroyed over 2/3rds of the White House.

And do you really think he's not going to touch the remaining 1/3rd? What's going to stop him?

Congress does Nothing. Mikey boy basically dissolved congress. The Supremes are blood sucking sycophants who enable a dictator and are happy to do so....right up to the point where the pedo stops paying them. (and no the US Constitution ain't going to stop him )

So we the people have to remove him. There is no other way.

[MadameButterfly]

63. Imagine the Lincoln Memorial

disappearing without notice. The Smithsonian. The Kennedy Center. The house of someone he doesn't like. You just don't know what it will occur to him to do.

[ffr]

4. Republicans must stop siding with and taking orders from Vladimir Putin

This is the United States of America, up until recently, the most power nation on Earth. They are such cowards.

No more republicans!

[slightlv]

11. I agree with you...

After experiencing all the name-calling from the 60's and 70's from republicans, calling us commies and marxists and anything else they could attribute to Russia, it's just mind blowing that THEY are the Communists, Marxists (to their own kind, of course), and everything else you can associate with Russia. Even wearing signs they'd rather be Communist than Democrat. I mean, who could have seen that coming back in the "good, old days" (LOL)

There were a few books on the subject of Russia destroying America, but these were never brought to the forefront of information in the United States. And the entire format was so dissimilar to how things are done in America that even if they'd been common knowledge, I fear they'd have been dismissed out of hand. America believes in things like brute force, violence, and guns being the epitome of how we "take over" anybody. Russia played the long game... planting seeds of agents and turning Americans against each other by goosing our natural racist tendencies. That way, they could take over by becoming the enemy within, rather than the enemy without. And after decades of propaganda and denigration, republicans (with their oversized amygdala) fell right into Russia's trap. They, as much as ISIS and Al Qaeda, or any of these "gangs" trump goes on and on about are true enemies of the State. Republicans ARE the terrorist sleeper cell throughout America. Their one goal is to tear down everything that this country was founded upon and replace it with a theocratic autocracy... with church and business at the apex and the rest of us in the mud, scrounging for survival.

The problem becomes how do we change these cult propensities of republicans? When a large part of their symptoms are controlled by an actual organ in the brain, how do we help them see they're being unethical, immoral, and just plain evil? They're acting in accordance with what they've been told, what their bodies tell them, and how they've been programmed through the decades. I've read lots of articles detailing their oversized amygdalas, but nothing in how to reshape that into a more normal size, or even if it's possible. If it's not possible, what the hell are we suppose to do about it? This cult deprogramming on a massive scale, and of a different format. We're actually fighting their nature here, determined by their "fight or flight" response. First thing that pops into my mind is how to emphasize the "flight" response, such that they leave the country. But they're so adamant in their beliefs that might makes right, I don't see them doing that. It's a mystery to me how to change them. The why and how they got here, totally understandable but useless in these circumstances.

[littlemissmartypants]

20. Unfortunately, slightlv...psychopaths are not capable of meaningful introspection

There is no "how do we help them see they're being unethical, immoral, and just plain evil?" because they don't see it as being unethical. We can't change them. They can't change themselves. It's a fools errand for us. And for them, they don't think changing is warranted. In their minds they see nothing wrong.

These people are so twisted, emotions have flipped in their brains. (Think prefrontal cortex injury but without the possible improvements due to the malleable nature of the brain. Psychopaths very rarely change and are born into families of psychopaths.) When I tell you that every day is opposite day I mean that literally.

To love is to hurt someone and induce pain. They are unable to comprehend that there's anything wrong with this.

It's difficult to believe and understand because it is so far outside the normal range of acceptable and expected human behavior. These people cannot tell a so-called "white lie" because lying to them is a normal process and reflexive. They can't help themselves and don't even consider twisted truth as lying. Is SOP* for them.

They can't change and are terrible candidates for therapy because they don't believe that they need to do anything differently. They truly and deeply believe that they are normal and everyone else is weird.

Here's a good article about signs of psychopathic tendencies:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201910/8-possible-signs-of-psychopathic-tendencies


*Stand Operating Procedure

[ReRe]

44. While reading your first paragraph

J. Edgar Hoover came to my mind, rolling in his grave. And Joe McCarthy, for that matter. Those two drove themselves and everyone else crazy with accusing US Citizens. of being Communists and/or Marxists. There's been a complete 180 degree flip-flop of the Republican Party! They have run out of names to call us! Antifa is a new one that makes absolutely no sense. When they first started using that term, I had to ask somebody what it meant!
Their base took it right up. Hell, they didn't know what it meant. They interpreted "antifa" as one of them "Evil Democrats". Shame on the Republicans for gas-lighting their base. I think it was total disrespect to all our guys who fought & died in WWII to stomp out the evil of fascism on the face of the earth. Republicans are all evil bullies on the playground of life.

[slightlv]

67. I'm right there with you, ReRe...

One of the things this administration has done is make me glad my father isn't around to see what has happened to his country. An Army Medic in WWII, nazis and fascism and what he'd seen done in their names affected him all his life. I miss him like hell, and long for the long conversations we used to have; but I am SO glad he's not here to see how one party just turned this country over to all those he fought against. What makes it particularly heartbreaking, is he was a registered Republican. The old style Republican, but still... even when I pointed out how much of what he said was current democratic party policies, he just couldn't get past the racism of the old, old style democrats. He just couldn't trust such drastic changes would last.

[hlthe2b]

5. They need an emergency order to stop all construction--even if it leaves a horrible pile of debris.

Or, I guess they can remove what they have destroyed, but I want a group of historians to inspect and document what, if anything, they preserved and where it is being kept. If there was anything valuable, my guess is Trump's minions have already made off with it.

[slightlv]

12. Yippers, just like they walked out of the WH

carrying busts, statues, and other valuables and loaded them into the cars when trump left the WH for Mar-a-Lago. Not to mention all the boxes of secret documents he loaded, as well. What I wonder is how much of the "detritus" was valuable in and of itself. Not just what was put on pedestals, but what was built into the walls that was valuable. Some of that may not be of value monetarily, but priceless culturally. We already know trump cares nothing for culture. Everything is transactional in his world. If it's not of value, money-wise, then it's worthless. This destruction he has wrought goes far deeper than most of us can put into words, and certainly not words he could understand.

[ancianita]

41. YES! Let the bad optics just sit there through next year as court battles roll out -- to remind

mindless republican voters who they need to get rid of before it's too late.

[ReRe]

46. They surely have the blueprint of the East Wing

Thomas Jefferson comes to mind. When he was Governor of Virginia, he was an avid record keeper. He charted what vegetables were planted where, every boxwood bush, every flower in the garden. He charted other things that I can't remember. But the main thing he drew up was a blueprint of every square inch of the Governor's Mansion there in Williamsburg. One of the greatest hazards in those days was fire. Homes would burn to the ground as they heated their homes with fireplaces and burned candles at night. Anyway. It's a good thing he created the blueprint, as the mansion did indeed burn to the ground several times thru the years and they had Thomas Jefferson's blueprint to rebuild the original mansion!
So yeah, I betcha' they have a blueprint of the East Wing. I wager it will be rebuilt in the future.

[OnlinePoker]

48. The East Wing was built in 1942

It was controversial at the time because it was built during the war.

[ReRe]

49. ?

You don't think that I meant that Thomas Jefferson drew the blueprint for the East Wing, do you? Thank you for those facts about the East Wing, BTW!

[BumRushDaShow]

69. Like the FIRST "President's House" here in Philly

this current one will eventually look like this (just a framework with markers, which is all that is left for a depiction, and 45 is trying to get rid of that too) -

[joshdawg]

6. And IF this case gets to the SCOTUS,

we all know how that is going to turn out..........by a 6 to 3 margin.
just sayin'

[maxsolomon]

7. It's quixotic, but I wish them luck.

The complaint argues that the administration began demolishing the East Wing without first submitting final plans to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) or consulting with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the D.C. State Historic Preservation Office.

It also cites an alleged failure to seek guidance from the Commission of Fine Arts, which traditionally reviews exterior changes to federal landmarks.

[BattleRow]

8. Isn't almost everything this administration has done a violation of public trust?

[Raven123]

9. Ironic he wants to "modernize" the WH, while setting back America.

[twodogsbarking]

10. Bye, bye Washington Monument. I climbed it twice.Used the stairs. Down too, to be clear.

[sdfernando]

17. I climbed up it.

Back in the early 70s when we returned from Panama. Rode the elevator down. Too bad people can't see the wonderful artwork installed in the walls of the staircase.

[BumRushDaShow]

22. I went up/down on the elevator in that back in the '80s

(kind of a tiny space up at the top but great views)

[Duppers]

65. Oh, there would be a large army of protesters

Including myself if that monument's destruction were ever suggested.

Btw, I climbed it too.

[twodogsbarking]

66. He might paint it gold though. Hope he doesn't think of it.

[slightlv]

13. I would like to ensure than the stupid idea he has of

putting up a Victory Arch is never achieved. He has no victories. And it would be just one more piece of trash we'd have to get rid of when he's gone.

[James48]

14. Unfortunately, the suit will fail

Simply on the grounds of standing to bring suit.

Although he is breaking the law, just anyone can’t file and say they have been harmed. Before anything can take place, the plaintiff has to show that they have standing, and were harmed by the illegal
Action.

[progressoid]

23. The last three paragraphs are key

Federal courts generally require plaintiffs to show a specific, personal injury to establish standing—a high bar for citizens objecting to government property decisions since courts often dismiss cases brought by citizens without a direct stake.

Even if the case proceeds, most of the East Wing has already been torn down, making a work stoppage largely symbolic.

Oversight bodies such as the National Capital Planning Commission may still review the ballroom plans, but their authority over the Executive Residence is limited.

[Igel]

36. Picking up from the last paragraph of your excerpt ... The freestanding BBC legal take on the matter.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c397jvrrm4mo

Under a law known as National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies are required to examine the impact of any construction projects on historic properties. Specifically, Section 106 requires the agencies to undergo a review process, including getting input from the public.

Then-President Lyndon B Johnson signed the law in 1966, after a period of rapid development in the US - including through federally-funded infrastructure projects - as concerns grew that cultural and historical landmarks were being destroyed.

Why is the White House exempt?

According to Section 107 of the act, three buildings and their grounds are exempt from the Section 106 review process: the White House, the US Capitol and the US Supreme Court building.

In the past, however, typically presidents have voluntarily submitted their plans to the National Capital Planning Commission - which oversees federal building construction - before the construction project begins.

Trump officials have not yet done so, but say they plan to, though the renovation has already begun.

Note that the review process is what's being invoked.

The text of the 1952 Capital Preservation Act is fairly broad and utterly non-specific, and includes broad swaths of DC, N Va. A quick skim didn't show foresee enforcement action or make obvious any granting of standing.

Might get a TRO, but I foresee that being knocked down real quick.

[FBaggins]

55. Even a TRO seems unlikely

There might be a very short preliminary order to allow arguments for a TRO… but even that seems unlikely.

The two key factors are whether they are likely to win (they aren’t - for at least standing reasons)… and (more importantly) some irreparable harm if the TRO is not granted. And the sad truth of it is that the damage has already been done.

[gfarber]

18. The Voorhees Objection

A president known for his flair,
Said, “The East Wing is simply not fair!”
With a wave and a grin,
He said, “Tear it all in—
We’ll dance in a ballroom so rare!”

But the Voorhees cried out in alarm,
“That mansion’s got historical charm!
You can’t just destroy
What’s not yours, my boy—
You’ll do preservation great harm!”

To court went the couple in haste,
Their filings impeccably placed.
“Presidents may reign,
But laws still remain—
Let’s see what the judge thinks of taste!”

A spokesperson stated, quite grand,
“He’s got full authority, understand?
To modernize, shine,
Make the East Wing divine—
It’s all part of Trump’s master plan!”

It’s more than a ballroom or wall,
It’s power and history’s call.
Can one man command
What belongs to the land?
Or must he obey rules, like us all?

[calimary]

37. You really have a gift for these things, gfarber!

You’re the Poet Laureate of the Democratic Underground.

[c-rational]

61. Absolutely wonderful. You have the gift of words. Thanks.

[sop]

19. We need a massive Class Action lawsuit; it's the People's House he's torn down, we've all been harmed.

[bluestarone]

21. So when is construction on MT Rushmore gonna begin?

Would people accept that too? I'm worried about their answer.

[calimary]

39. If he tries it, I expect him to damage at least one of the other presidents

depicted there.

[durablend]

50. If he does, it'll be intentional

He'll probably order them all to be demolished and only his face put there

[Grins]

24. Trump has "full legal authority to modernize, renovate the WH"

No! He doesn’t. It’s not his house. That’s like a VRBO renter deciding to knock out a wall for whatever reason.

[yellow dahlia]

33. He is a steward...not an owner.

[COL Mustard]

26. You can't sue the King!

I hope they prevail and the punishment is that he has to put it back up.

[Grins]

27. As a former federal contractor I want to see...

The public REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) that went out to the bidders for a $200 million dollar project!*

Which means all the details on scope, materials, design, electrical, plumbing, codes, foundation surveys and testing, etc. And the security issues from the Secret Service, Marshals’ Service, FBI, Capitol and Metropolitan Police.

Something like this had to have one - or a justification for sole-source provided. If not, it’s an illegal bid.

Also like to see the list of potential bidders the government would have considered to solicit a RFP.

* There isn’t one. It would takes months of detailed planning to put one together. Trump pulled this from his cavernous ass.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. And also

asbestos abatement (which I expected wasn't even considered), let alone what is probably layers of lead paint.

[underpants]

52. I agree. I think they are hiding behind "private donations"

saying no government money is being used. It’s still National Parks land and some government money has to be being used because it’s on public land.

I work in procurement on a much smaller scale but we still have a process for any contract.

[FBaggins]

56. All of those things are required when Congress appropriates funds for something

And, of course, the government shutdown doesn’t help

[Lovie777]

28. Fucking up the People's House, shithole has no right..............

Republican party is worthless.

[Deuxcents]

30. Almost every president has done some modification while occupying the White House.

Not one of them have torn down a structure to make their plan work. This current occupier is a self serving convicted felon who has no intentions of leaving so he does not care how destructive he is.By the time the ink dries on this lawsuit, the entire wing will be gone and his immunity covers him.

[Igel]

35. Depends what you consider greenhouses torn down for the West Wing.

or Jefferson's Colonnade. That was finally removed in 1902 to make way to the colonnade that led to the East Wing constructed then.

Note that the entire Wing was gone yesterday--including almost all of the colonnade that replaced Jefferson's.

[yellow dahlia]

32. Can We the People be part of a class action lawsuit? n/t

[debsy]

38. This was what I was wondering!

I would sign on to this in a heart beat!

[The Grand Illuminist]

34. Hope their son Jason is available

In case all else fails.

[Firestorm49]

40. He doesn't own the damn building. We do.

He has no right as temporary occupant, to claim rights to its heritage. He just wants to be repaid the ballroom money when he’s ridden out on a rail.

[Bayard]

42. I don't see total destruction mentioned at all in,

"Full legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify" the building." But, laws obviously don't apply to him.

[moonshinegnomie]

45. he should be ordered to rebuild it

exactly the way it was,and paid for our of his own pocket.plus 2x the cost in punitive damages
call it an even 1B to start

[travelingthrulife]

51. There is no question it is illegal. The only question is whether we still have any remnant of law and order left in thi

[Doodley]

53. From Trump's perspective, the project is win, win.

He thought the American people would love it - improving the White House and it costs nothing. Shows him as a strong leader, making bold changes that "weak" presidents would never make.

In reality, it's all about his ambitions to be a dictator, his ego and his grifting. It is another way of him displaying that he can do anything he likes, because he's the King, so accept that. It's about making him feel powerful, having another thing to boast about, and impressing his oligarchs and other "strongmen" fascist leaders. It's about taking donations to fund it and using the presidency to reward the donors with favorable treatment and creating channels of corruption involving ongoing symbiotic relationships that bring him more wealth and power.

[Ruby the Liberal]

54. I hope they can be granted standing

It would be nice to find a back door of some sort into finding come checks and balances, seeing as how we don't seem to have any of those left.

[flashman13]

59. I am afraid they will not get over the standing hurdle. A class action of the American people vs Trump might.

I know that's wishful thinking.

[TommieMommy]

58. Good 👍👍👍👍

[lonely bird]

68. Next Democratic president

Bulldoze the fucking thing to the ground and then tear up the shitty patio.