The Department of Justice dubiously claimed on Friday that the government has the right to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty, sparking a social media s**tstorm.
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The claim came during an appeals court hearing on whether construction on Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom could continue.
U.S. Attorney Yaakov Roth, representing the Trump administration, said that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the organization suing to stop the build, lacks the standing to sue.
He told the judges that no one has the right to stop the build at this point and said the group needed to have attempted to stop it before the bulldozers started their demolition.
Judge Patricia Millett then asked Roth if such thinking applies even if people have a personal connection to a site. Roth said, “That’s correct.”
Millett then attempted to stretch Roth’s argument to its most extreme conclusion:
“If the government decides very quickly to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty, the people whose ancestors — that was the first thing they saw coming to this country, but the government moved too fast, nothing can be done?” she asked.
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Roth’s response: “I think that’s right, yes.”
Although Millett’s question about bulldozing Lady Liberty was intended as a hypothetical, Roth’s quick response in the affirmative ran over more than a few people on social media.
You may think this a far-fetched hypothetical.
But remember: Lady Liberty isn’t @realDonaldTrump’s type. https://t.co/Fg7Hd9qF2o
— George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2026
They’re out of their minds https://t.co/8BulXi1Yhj
— Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) June 5, 2026
There is nothing left of the Justice Department I worked at. https://t.co/vZ6LFJ1kZK
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) June 5, 2026
The Trump Admin talking about bulldozing the Statue of Liberty … sick, sick stuff https://t.co/hXEd18h06K
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) June 5, 2026
I honestly thought this was a joke https://t.co/dA38WVTRE2
— Cathy Young 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@CathyYoung63) June 5, 2026
Under Lujan itself, the lawyer’s answer is almost certainly wrong. A tourist, or even better an art or architecture specialist, who had bought a ticket to fly to New York at a particular time to go look at or study the statue would almost certainly have standing to challenge its… https://t.co/dlP8Qnsw91
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— michaelmorley11 (@michaelmorley11) June 5, 2026
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