WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration said in a court filing Monday that the White House ballroom construction project must continue for national security reasons and because a preservationist organization trying to stop it has no legal grounds to sue. independent reviews, a public comment period and obtain congressional approval.

The administration included in its 36-page presentation a statement from Matthew C. Quinn, deputy director of the United States Secret Service — the agency responsible for the security of the president and other high-ranking officials — in which he assures that more work is needed at the site where the East Wing of the White House used to be to meet the agency's “safety and security requirements.”

The presentation did not detail national security concerns; The government has offered to share classified details with the judge in a private meeting without the plaintiffs present.

The East Wing was located above an emergency operations bunker for the president.

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Quinn assured that a suspension, even temporary, of the work would “consequently hinder” the agency's ability to fulfill its mission and its legal obligations.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Tuesday in federal court in Washington.

The government's response to the lawsuit offers the most complete picture to date of the ballroom construction project, including a look at its rapid approval and growing scope.

According to the presentations, the definitive plans for the new party hall have not yet been completed, despite the fact that demolition and construction have already begun. Underground demolition at the site continues, wrote John Stanwich, the Park Service's liaison to the White House, and work on the foundation is scheduled to begin in January. Above-ground construction “is not anticipated to begin, at best, until April 2026,” he wrote.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The privately funded group last week asked a federal court to block construction of the ballroom until the project goes through a series of exhaustive design reviews, environmental assessments, public comments, and debate and ratification. Congress.

“No president is legally permitted to demolish parts of the White House without a review — not President Trump, not President Biden, not anyone else,” the lawsuit states. “And no president is legally allowed to build a ballroom on public property without giving the public a chance to weigh in.”

Trump had the East Wing demolished in October as part of his project to build a roughly $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom before his term ends in 2029. He says past presidents have long wanted an event space larger than the current White House rooms. He also claims that the ballroom would end the practice of hosting foreign dignitaries in huge temporary pavilions.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation says that before making any decisions, plans had to be presented to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and Congress. The lawsuit states that on October 21, the group sent letters to these organizations and the National Park Service to call for the project to be stopped and to ask the government to comply with federal law, but received no response.

The lawsuit cites several federal statutes and rules that detail the role of lawmakers and the planning and fine arts commissions in the federal government's construction projects.

In its response, the government argues that the president has the authority to modify the White House and included the extensive history of changes and additions to the Executive Mansion since its construction more than 200 years ago. It also claims that the president is not bound by the statutes cited by the plaintiffs.

Justice Department attorneys said in the filing that the plaintiff's claims about the demolition of the East Wing are “irrelevant” because the demolition cannot be undone. He also argues that the signs about future construction are “premature” because the plans are not definitive.

Furthermore, he maintains that the National Trust for Historic Preservation cannot establish “irreparable harm” because above-grade construction is not scheduled to begin until April. It argues that the revisions requested in the lawsuit, consultations with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, "will soon be underway without the intervention of this court."

The project has sparked criticism among the historic and architectural preservation communities, and among his political adversaries, but the lawsuit is the most tangible effort yet to alter or stop the president's plans for a work that, by itself, would be nearly twice the size of the White House before the demolition of the East Wing.

The National Park Service's Comprehensive Design Plan for the White House first identified in 2000 the need for a larger space to host events to address an increase in the number of visitors and provide a suitable venue for major events, according to the government presentation.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.