'Out of their minds': DOJ's 'bulldozer' threat to Statue of Liberty astonishes

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. The unidentified attorney is Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth.

DOJ argues Trump could 'bulldoze' Statue of Liberty during White House ballroom hearing

The Justice Department argued no one can stop Trump from building the ballroom.

By Steven Portnoy and Peter Charalambous
June 5, 2026, 2:50 PM ET • 6 min read

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A lawyer for the Justice Department told a federal appeals court panel on Friday that the Trump administration believes the White House ballroom project cannot be stopped by judges, and that even if the president wanted to "bulldoze" the Statue of Liberty, no one could sue to stop him.

"Let me ask you a straightforward question: that this court, the Supreme Court, no court could stop the building of this [ballroom]?" asked Judge Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee. ... "Yes," answered Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth. ... Roth said the controversial project is "well on its way," with more than 3 million pounds of steel rebar now on site. ... "I think it would have been improper to enjoin it, even on day one," Roth said.

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DOJ attorney Roth argued that the organization lacked standing in part because the court could not correct the alleged harm, since the former East Wing has already been demolished and construction on its replacement is now so far along. That led Judge Millett to rebuke what she called the administration's "move fast and break things" approach. ... "If you move fast enough, nobody has standing to challenge it?" she asked. ... "I do think that that is correct," Roth said. "The injury, it becomes non-redressable."

When pressed by Millett on a hypothetical circumstance she introduced involving the Statue of Liberty, Roth acknowledged that the same argument would apply if the Trump administration attempted to quickly demolish it. ... "If the government decided to move very quickly to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty," Millett began, pointing to a theoretical lawsuit brought by those whose ancestors saw the statue on arrival. "[If] the government moved too fast, nothing can be done?" ... "I think that's right, yes," Roth said, in a moment that sparked audible gasps in the courtroom.

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Yaakov Roth


Yaakov Roth

Yaakov Roth grew up in Toronto, Canada, and moved to the United States to attend Harvard Law School. He graduated summa cum laude in 2007 and then clerked for Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Since then, he has practiced appellate and Supreme Court litigation at Jones Day, where he is a partner in the Washington, DC, office. Yaakov’s practice focuses on white-collar criminal law, the First Amendment (including religious liberty), and federal statutory schemes such as ERISA, RICO, and Title VII.