00:00A federal judge in the United States stopped again one of President Donald Trump's most
00:05controversial projects, the construction of a dance hall at the White House.
00:09The decision not only reactivates the legal debate, it also opens up questions about other
00:14plans of this kind driving from the White House.
00:17Jose Levenias brings us more information.
00:23A federal judge ordered to stop the construction of President Donald Trump's dance hall at
00:29the White House.
00:30The decision states that the project cannot proceed without congressional approval.
00:34When we have dignitaries coming, like President Xi of China or anybody else, we have very small
00:41rooms, they're not big enough to handle the kind of capacity that you need.
00:46This is the same height as the White House, it's an incredible fitting, you see what that
00:52is, right?
00:53Now the military is building a big complex under the ballroom.
00:57The government tried to justify the works as a safety improvement, but the court rejected
01:04the argument.
01:04The project includes a 650-seat ballroom in the White House, with a 90,000 square foot expansion
01:10and an estimated cost of 400 million dollars.
01:13This is a large scale project that would modify the presidential building and which critics consider
01:18that the federal government should be approved by Congress.
01:22I think these works are unnecessary.
01:24It's an unnecessary public expense for all taxpayers here in the U.S. because it's practically
01:29a vanity.
01:31We now need people's taxes to be allocated to more necessary things like health.
01:38I think that it's great that the federal judge halted it.
01:42I think it's an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.
01:45And I think at some point we have to put a stop to a lot of the excessive spending that's
01:50unnecessary by the Trump administration.
01:51And it's just a blatant waste of taxpayer dollars.
01:55I mean, people can't buy food and gas.
01:58So I think we should focus on needs and not glorifying this man.
02:05For now, the cranes have been stopped.
02:09The plan enters a legal limbo while the White House faces a new dispute with the courts.
02:14But this is not the only project that generates controversy.
02:18A few kilometers from here on Colombia Island, the president plans to build a monumental ark,
02:23a 75-meter-high structure higher than the Ark of Triumph in Paris.
02:26The project, valued at more than 100 million dollars, would be financed according to the administration
02:32with private donations.
02:33As you know, this year we celebrate America's 250th birthday.
02:38In honor of this historic occasion, President Trump and the Department of Interior will submit
02:43plans for the United States Triumphal Ark, which will be an architectural masterpiece
02:48to celebrate our history.
02:50However, critics also question the cost, the necessity and impact of these works on Washington's
02:56historical landscape.
02:57Impulsed by Donald Trump, the Ark of the Independent
02:59Promoted by Donald Trump, the Independence Ark seeks to celebrate the United States' history,
03:04but it also reopens the debate about costs and priorities at a time of economic uncertainty,
03:09marked in part by government decisions.
03:10In Washington, Jose Leveña, Telesur.
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