Trump says he was told, 'Sir, you can start (the demolition) tonight'...

anticipatory demolition

Can the Epstein Ballroom Building be stopped, or just slowed to frustration because of the apparent lack of legal authority? The shock of the demolition could have been avoided had plans already been formally submitted for Trump's ballroom. Why did Trump choose to do the demolition during the shutdown?

The project has raised questions about whether Trump has the legal authority to decide unilaterally to bulldoze a large chunk of "The People's House" ‒ and to build a 90,000-square foot structure in its place that will tower over the main White House building.

Here's what we know.

Perhaps surprisingly, there are few legal restraints to stop him. All it took was a president willing to break from the way construction projects on the White House grounds are usually handled.

Priya Jain, who chairs a heritage conservation committee at the Society of Architectural Historians, said past White House renovations ‒ even as minor as renovations to a shed ‒ have gone through public review procedures established in the Historic Preservation Act, even though it wasn't required.

"Even if it's not happening formally, we would assume it's happening behind the doors," Jain said, whose organization has called for the demolition to be halted.

There are few legal restraints to stop a president from bulldozing a part of the White House. All it took was Trump willing to break from tradition.

Trump says he was told, 'Sir, you can start tonight'

Trump spent decades in the real estate world building towers and casinos. At a dinner with ballroom donors Oct. 15, he remarked in amazement at the lack of required oversight.

He told a story about two men ‒ whom he did not identify but whom he referred to as "geniuses" ‒ advising him he could begin the project immediately.

"I said, 'How long would it take?' They said, 'Sir, you can start tonight.' I said, 'What are you talking about?'" Trump recounted. "'You have zero zoning conditions, you're the president of …' I said, 'You've got to be kidding. You mean I can actually do something that I really want?' Because I'm used to sitting with heads of community boards and politicians."

www.usatoday.com/...

Satellite images show President Trump's project to build a grand ballroom has appeared to take down at least six trees on the White House grounds — including two historic magnolia trees commemorating Presidents Warren G. Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt. https://t.co/E9Epovw4wI

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