A federal judge on Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump to stop construction on a new White House ballroom, citing a lack of congressional approval.
Loading audio narration…
“Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!” US District Judge Richard Leon of the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling gives the White House 14 days to comply with the order, allowing them time to ask a higher court to pause it while they appeal.
The Trump administration didn’t immediately return a request for comment, but filed a notice preserving its right to appeal. Trump on Truth Social blasted the organization that sued him, saying the 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.”
The White House in July announced plans to build a new ballroom to host guests of the roughly 230-year-old building. The new 90,000-square-foot ballroom would be “ornately designed” and able to seat “650 people” — up from 200, the press release said.
The construction would cost an estimated $400 million. A list of donors to the project, provided to Business Insider by the White House, included large tech companies such as Apple, Amazon, and Meta.
Preservationist group The National Trust for Historic Preservation of the United States sought to block construction, arguing that the renovations would disrupt the building’s historic character and that the White House lacked the legal authority to carry them out.
“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!”, the judge said.
“But here is the good news,” the judge added. “It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project.”
Trump took issue with the ruling, echoing the Justice Department’s view that a president doesn’t need congressional approval to make renovations.
“In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “He is WRONG! Congressional approval has never been given on anything, in these circumstances, big or small, having to do with construction at the White House.”
In his ruling, Leon wrote that, historically, Congress has at times weighed in on White House renovations and set aside funds for such construction, including the original construction of the West and East Wings.
In a separate post, Trump also blasted the National Trust, a congressional-chartered organization that Congress stopped funding in 2005.
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation sues me for a Ballroom that 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,” Trump wrote.
The Trust also filed suit alongside other preservationist groups to stop Trump’s preferred renovations of the Kennedy Center.
