Ranking Members Jared Huffman and Robert Garcia and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse File Amicus Brief to Block Trump’s Illegal Ballroom

Ranking Members Jared Huffman and Robert Garcia and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse File Amicus Brief to Block Trump's Illegal Ballroom

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Jared Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, filed an amicus brief in federal court to stop President Trump's illegal demolition and reconstruction of the White House East Wing to build a billion-dollar ballroom for his billionaire friends and donors.

"Donald Trump looked at a country full of people working hard and still falling behind, and he decided what America needed was a gaudy ballroom. Now he is reaching into the pockets of working families for crystal chandeliers and gold trim while Americans are told to tighten their belts. The White House does not belong to Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies. We are fighting this in court," said Ranking Member Jared Huffman.

"While working families are told there's no money for affordable housing, healthcare, or lowering everyday costs, President Trump is building a billion-dollar ballroom. Everyone should be disgusted by his illegal and unconstitutional vanity project. We are fighting this in court," said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

"Senate Democrats were able to knock taxpayer funding for Republicans' gilded ballroom out of the reconciliation bill, but the law is clear that the entire project is illegal," said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

The lawmakers filed the amicus brief in the case National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service, currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging President Trump's demolition of the White House East Wing without congressional authorization or appropriation. Congress controls federal property, including the White House, and for more than two centuries every major renovation has gone through congressional authorization and appropriation. Trump bypassed Congress entirely, and no law authorizes what he is doing.

Full list of amicus brief signatories: Rep. Robert Garcia (CA-42), Rep. Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Rep. Gabe Amo (RI-01), Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL), Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Rep. Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Rep. Wesley Bell (MO-01), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11), Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26), Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Rep. Janelle S. Bynum (OR-05), Rep. Salud O. Carbajal (CA-24), Rep. Troy A. Carter Sr. (LA-02), Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06), Rep. Ed Case (HI-01), Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (MO-05), Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), Rep. Herbert C. Conaway Jr. (NJ-03), Rep. Jim Costa (CA-21), Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), Rep. Jason Crow (CO-06), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Rep. Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Rep. April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Rep. Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Rep. Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22), Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), Rep. Laura Friedman (CA-30), Rep. John Garamendi (CA-08), Rep. Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Rep. Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29), Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Rep. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Rep. Pablo José Hernández (PR-AL), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Rep. Jim Himes (CT-04), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), Rep. Val Hoyle (OR-04), Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Rep. Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rep. Julie Johnson (TX-32), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Rep. William Keating (MA-09), Rep. Timothy M. Kennedy (NY-26), Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01), Rep. George Latimer (NY-16), Rep. Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03), Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49), Rep. Sam T. Liccardo (CA-16), Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-36), Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Rep. Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-07), Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04), Rep. James P. McGovern (MA-02), Rep. LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rep. Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06), Rep. Robert J. Menendez (NJ-08), Rep. Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Rep. Dave Min (CA-47), Rep. Gwen S. Moore (WI-04), Rep. Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Rep. Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Rep. Scott H. Peters (CA-50), Rep. Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Rep. Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-05), Rep. Emily Randall (WA-06), Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Rep. Luz M. Rivas (CA-29), Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA-32), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rep. Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09), Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Rep. Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Rep. Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04), Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Rep. Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Rep. Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Rep. Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03), Rep. Derek T. Tran (CA-45), Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-52), Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Rep. Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Rep. James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43), Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Rep. George Whitesides (CA-27), Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).

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