When President Donald Trump suddenly began bulldozing the East Wing of the White House during the first government shutdown of his second term, Republicans were horrified behind the scenes.
The Washington Post reported that a senior White House aide got a call from at least one Republican lawmaker who had "substantial concerns," particularly given that Trump pledged he would never "touch" the White House building.
Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) formally raised his concerns in an October letter demanding information about the project.
“The stark images of the East Wing demolished in mere days were disturbing to Americans who cherish preservation of our nation’s history,” he said in the letter given to the Post.
The communication is part of the documents that were first obtained by Public Citizen, a government watchdog group.
Turner further advocated that Trump's own appointed commission reject his project.
Turner got a response from Will Scharf, Trump’s staff secretary, saying the president never got the approval from his commission before he tore down the East Wing. He then said that they weren't required to, claiming that the review process only covers "vertical" construction, not demolition. The argument has appeared multiple times over the past several months and critics are calling it "absurd" since the entire purpose of the commission is to preserve the buildings that already exist.
Jon Golinger, democracy advocate at Public Citizen, told the Post that the Turner letter “revealed what people were really thinking. I bet there’s a lot more high-ranking Republicans who feel the same.”
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon accused the White House of making an “end run” around by having private donations fund the project rather than having Congress allocate the cash for his pet project. Leon will rule on whether it can continue soon.
"Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, said the congressional authorization was narrow and limited to matters such as White House maintenance, not carte blanche to undertake one of the biggest changes in the White House’s history," the report said. "Justice Department lawyers have argued that any pause on the project could pose a national security risk and said they will immediately appeal if Leon grants a stay on construction."
"[A]s the Secret Service attested, halting construction would imperil the President and others who live and work in the White House," the DOJ said in its argument. The Secret Service operations consider an open construction site "in and of itself, a hazard."
That claim drew questions about how a halt to construction posed a greater national security risk than the construction itself.
If Leon rules against Trump, “There will be nowhere to run,” Golinger said, “and nowhere to hide.”
Golinger also said he isn't surprised by the GOP's fear of speaking out publicly about the issue.
“I certainly haven't seen a lot of campaign ads saying, ‘Elect me for this reason,’” Golinger said. “No Republicans have had to … put their name behind this project and say, ‘This is what I stand for.’”
The report cited a February poll from The Economist/YouGov that by more than a 2-to-1 margin, those surveyed are opposed to the project.
