Preservation Group Launches $10M Legal Fund Amid White House Ballroom Fight

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced on Wednesday that it is creating a legal defense fund to support its efforts against a series of construction and renovation projects backed by President Donald Trump, including a large new ballroom at the White House.

The privately funded nonprofit, which Congress has tasked with protecting historic sites, aims to raise $10 million over three years. According to the group, the money will be used "to protect and honor our nation's shared civic and cultural inheritance against urgent threats emanating from Washington."

Brent Leggs, the organization's president and CEO, said in an interview that the fund is the first of its kind for the group. It will strengthen its legal division and government relations staff, he said, describing the initiative as "a response to the urgent and existential threats to historic preservation."

The preservation group has been a vocal critic of the president's efforts to leave a lasting architectural mark on Washington. Those efforts include demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that would be larger than the rest of the complex, replacing the White House Rose Garden with a patio modeled on Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, adding a helipad to the South Lawn, and redecorating the Oval Office with gold accents.

In Washington more broadly, the administration has sought to rename and renovate the Kennedy Center, is working to build a large triumphal arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, and has repeatedly attempted to refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

In December, the National Trust sued in federal court to halt the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receives congressional approval. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled against the group, with the majority finding that it likely lacked the legal standing to challenge the project, allowing construction to proceed.

The group is also part of a lawsuit seeking to stop the administration's overhaul of the Kennedy Center, which was abruptly closed to the public last week. Leggs said additional lawsuits are planned.

The organization has additionally opposed proposed changes to the National Historic Preservation Act, which it says would weaken legal protections for historic sites and public lands.

Speaking at a National Preservation Summit in Washington, Leggs framed the stakes in stark terms. "Our national inheritance hangs in balance today," he said, according to a copy of his remarks. "It is not an exaggeration to say that this moment is existential. For our field, for the communities we serve, and for generations to come."

He added that the group would raise the initial $10 million over three years in what he called a "moonshot effort" to keep the nation's civic and cultural heritage intact.