President Donald Trump used a lengthy Truth Social post early Saturday to accuse the National Trust for Historic Preservation and an individual plaintiff of committing treason by suing to block construction of his White House ballroom, claiming the lawsuit exposed classified military security features of the project.
The post, published at 2:16 AM Eastern, came roughly a week after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that above-ground construction on the ballroom cannot continue without congressional approval, upholding a lower court injunction.
TRUMP: Accuses National Trust for Historic Preservation of revealing top military secrets, including rooftop DronePort plans, in suit against White House security facility pic.twitter.com/h3s24NBBFM
— Trump Truths (@trumptruthsbot) August 15, 2026
Trump wrote that the National Trust “revealed Top Military Secrets” by bringing the lawsuit, calling the organization and its allies “TREASONISTS.” He argued the group’s name misleadingly suggests it is a government agency, said federal funding for the Trust ended in 2005 over disagreement with its mission, and said the lawsuit forced disclosure of classified security features including a rooftop “DronePort.”
Trump also said the National Trust’s former president, Carol Quillen, “had no background in Historic Preservation” and had been “replaced, unanimously, effective immediately,” comparing it to what he described as her earlier dismissal from Davidson College. He referred to the individual plaintiff in the case only as “a woman walking her dog” near the White House, describing her as “an activist, or serial plaintiff” involved in “much other frivolous litigation throughout the City,” and said she has no legal standing to challenge the project.
The post cited Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., by name, saying opposition to the ballroom stems from what Fetterman has called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
We were there front and center.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) April 26, 2026
That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government.
After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these. pic.twitter.com/eeUBnlSe5y
Court reporting identifies the individual at the center of the standing dispute as Alison Hoagland, a historic preservation professor and National Trust member who has said she regularly walks near the White House grounds and objects to the visual impact of the completed ballroom. Lawfare’s coverage of oral arguments reported that a Justice Department attorney argued in court that her stated injury was a “classic generalized grievance” insufficient to establish standing under Article III of the Constitution, a legal argument distinct from the description in Trump’s post.
Trump has used similar language to describe Hoagland in previous posts, including an April Truth Social post following a shooting near a White House event, in which he referred to her as “a woman walking her dog” with “absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit.”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed suit in December 2025 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeking to halt construction of the ballroom until the administration completed federal review processes, including congressional authorization and public comment, that the group says are legally required before construction on White House grounds.
The lawsuit followed the October 2025 demolition of the White House East Wing to make way for the roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The National Trust, chartered by Congress in 1949, has said it is not seeking to block the project outright but wants the administration to follow the standard review process.
A federal judge ruled in the Trust’s favor in late March, an order later paused while the case moved through the appeals process. Construction continued through the following months. On Aug. 7, the D.C. Circuit upheld the injunction against above-ground construction in a 136-page ruling, stating that the decision over whether to build the ballroom belongs to Congress, not the executive branch acting alone, though the order was stayed for two weeks. Underground work described by the administration as security-related was permitted to continue.
The D.C. Circuit’s ruling leaves the ballroom project without congressional authorization for above-ground work for now. The Trump administration has indicated it may appeal further. The National Trust has said it does not intend to withdraw the lawsuit.
Editor's Note: Unelected federal judges are hijacking President Trump's agenda and insulting the will of the people.
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