A federal court has ruled that Donald Trump must immediately pay the outstanding amount owed to ACECO Demolition Company, along with $500,000 in damages and more than $1 million in additional penalties, after the company sued both Trump and the White House for unpaid fees related to the controversial demolition of the East Wing.
The ruling, issued late Thursday by Judge Marjorie Klein of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, orders Trump and the White House Office of Administration to satisfy the full debt “without delay,” blasting what the court described as “a pattern of deliberate nonpayment, stonewalling, and bad-faith negotiations” with ACECO over the last several months.
According to court documents, ACECO had been contracted to carry out partial demolition and structural modifications on the East Wing as part of what internal memos described as an “enhanced presidential hospitality complex” project, reportedly including a private ballroom, underground parking expansion, and a VIP reception hall. The company claimed it completed its assigned phases under tight deadlines, only to see invoices ignored, delayed, or bounced between Trump’s legal team and White House administrators.
In a sharply worded opinion, Judge Klein wrote that “no individual, including a former president, may treat contractors as disposable vendors whose labor can be exploited and then dismissed when the bill is due.” The court found that ACECO had “amply demonstrated” that Trump’s team repeatedly promised payment while privately instructing staff to “slow-roll” or dispute charges to gain leverage in ongoing political and legal battles.
Outside the courthouse, ACECO CEO Anthony Cardenas called the ruling “a victory for every contractor who’s ever been told ‘the check is in the mail’ and then watched months go by with nothing but excuses.” He added that his crews had worked under intense pressure, often overnight and under heavy security, to meet aggressive timelines. “We don’t care if it’s a townhouse or the White House,” Cardenas said. “You hire us, we tear it down, you pay the bill. It’s that simple.”
Trump’s legal team immediately signaled their intention to appeal, calling the decision “wildly political” and accusing the court of “weaponizing contract law.” In an emailed statement, a spokesperson insisted that ACECO had “overbilled, double-charged, and attempted to profit from chaos,” arguing that the company treated the East Wing as an “open-ended piggy bank funded by taxpayers.” The statement did not address why no formal disputes or change orders were filed until after ACECO sued.
Legal analysts noted that while the total amount ordered by the court is relatively modest compared to some of Trump’s other legal battles, the language of the ruling could be especially damaging. By explicitly framing the conduct as a “calculated strategy of nonpayment,” the opinion may be cited in other ongoing civil disputes involving contractors, vendors, and political committees that allege similar behavior.
On Capitol Hill, critics seized on the news as yet another symbol of what they call Trump’s “chaotic management style,” with one lawmaker quipping that “you can’t promise to rebuild America when you won’t even pay for demolishing one wing of your own house.” Supporters, however, rushed to conservative media to frame ACECO as “just another opportunistic contractor trying to cash in on Trump’s name,” claiming the company exaggerated its role and costs to attract attention.
Meanwhile, staffers familiar with the East Wing project say the construction site remains in a strange limbo: partially gutted hallways, exposed beams, and sealed zones hidden behind temporary walls and security barriers. One anonymous employee described it as “a cross between a renovation show and a crime scene,” adding that no one seems to know when, or if, the project will actually be completed.
