Trump Eyeing Federal Buildings for Demolition, Ex-Official Says

The Trump administration is considering demolishing four historic Washington buildings, including those that housed the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Voice of America, a former government official alleged in a declaration.

The White House is independently soliciting bids to recommend the demolition of the historic buildings, without the input of the General Services Administration, which maintains government buildings, a retired GSA administrator said in a court declaration.

GSA has “sole authority over this process,” yet it has not conducted, to her knowledge, the procedures required under historic preservation and environmental laws for these buildings to be destroyed, the declaration by Mydelle Wright alleges.

“For the first time of which I am aware, a President is personally involved in facilitating end-runs around the agency’s obligations to the buildings that are our national heritage, and who in the agency is going to tell him ‘no?’” she wrote.

The allegation was made in a supplemental declaration in litigation brought by historic preservation groups fighting to block President Donald Trump from painting a stone federal building near the White House.

The buildings targeted for potential demolition include the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building, the GSA Regional Office Building, and the Liberty Loan Building, according to her declaration.

The declaration, provided to Bloomberg Law by the group’s attorney, was presented to a Washington federal judge in-person during a Monday court hearing.

Gregory Werkheiser, the attorney for the Cultural Heritage Partners, raised concerns at the hearing that this information cast doubt on the ability of GSA to assure, as it did in an earlier court filing, that it would not engage in or authorize any powerwashing or painting on the exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building before March.

GSA “doesn’t have the president’s actions under control,” he told Judge Dabney Friedrich of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

Werkheiser also pointed to Trump’s decision to demolish the White House’s East Wing to build a larger ballroom that could cost up to $350 million. The president started the project without first notifying the public or consulting experts, according to the preservation groups.

“We don’t come to the court in a vacuum,” he said.

Justice Department lawyer Adam Gustafson said the government objected to the declaration’s introduction. He argued it was filed too late and based on “hearsay and speculation.”

He also told Friedrich that the claims are “completely irrelevant” because the court doesn’t have the authority to block Trump from engaging in actions, only the GSA.

Friedrich appeared frustrated that she didn’t receive the declaration earlier. Wright said in the filing that she became aware of the new information on the afternoon of Dec. 5, and Werkheiser said he needed the weekend to verify the information, which he said came from Wright’s “own sources.”

Court challenge

Friedrich is considering a request by Cultural Heritage Partners and the DC Preservation League to block the federal government from painting the granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The building was constructed in the late 19th century and now houses offices for White House staff.

Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham last month that he is considering painting the entire building white and is “getting bids from painters.”

The groups sued shortly after and asked the court to stop the government from making any changes to the building until it has engaged in the processes required under environmental and historical preservation laws.

Gustafson told Friedrich on Monday that the preservationists “ran to court prematurely” and there is no agency action for them to challenge.

Friedrich indicated she was likely to side with the preservation groups on their claim that the move would violate historic preservation laws. She told Werkheiser he’d made that argument well, and the judge suggested to the government that they present different arguments in future briefing.

Still, the judge appeared to wrestle with whether the preservationists had shown they would be hurt absent an immediate order blocking any renovations while litigation continued. Friedrich said she may issue a written or oral ruling on this and asked the attorneys for their availability this or next week for that.