Coalition of nonprofit organizations file amicus brief challenging Trump’s White House plans

A coalition of organizations including the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s demolition of the White House East Wing and construction of a new ballroom.

The amicus brief argues that the White House complex and President’s Park are federal property protected by longstanding constitutional, statutory, planning, and preservation rules.

It further contends that no president has inherent authority to destroy part of the White House complex or undertake a major new building project on those grounds without express approval from Congress. 

The filing contends that private donor funding does not create legal authority for a project that Congress has not authorized. The brief also says that the National Park Service’s own environmental review acknowledged the proposal would cause permanent adverse impacts to the White House grounds.

The coalition includes the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Association for Preservation Technology, the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the Cultural Landscape Foundation, the DC Preservation League, the National Mall Coalition, the National Preservation Partners Network, the Olmsted Network, and the Society of Architectural Historians.

“Architects understand how a building connects to its landscape, its history, and the people it serves,” said 2026 AIA President Illya Azaroff, FAIA. “When a proposal affects one of the nation’s most consequential public spaces, that expertise isn’t incidental—it’s essential. The White House and its grounds are among the most consequential public spaces in our democracy, and that distinction carries legal and civic obligations that cannot be set aside. AIA’s position is clear: the planning and stewardship of our most significant national places must be transparent, lawful, and worthy of the trust the American people have placed in them.”