A federal judge has halted US President Donald Trump’s plan to build a $400m ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing, ruling that the project cannot move forward without approval from Congress.
District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday after the National Trust for Historic Preservation challenged the legality of the construction. The group argued that Trump overstepped his authority by ordering the demolition and launching the project without legislative backing.
“I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,” Leon wrote.
“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!” he added. “Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!”
The ruling effectively freezes work on the planned 90,000 square-foot ballroom while the case proceeds, though Leon noted that any construction tied to security or safety concerns can continue.
The decision also gives the administration a window to respond. Leon paused the enforcement of his order for 14 days, allowing time for an appeal — which the Justice Department filed within hours at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The case reflects a broader clash over presidential authority and the stewardship of historic federal property. The National Trust, which brought the lawsuit, framed the project as an overreach, and its president, Carol Quillen, welcomed the court’s intervention.
Trump, meanwhile, defended the project in a social media post, dismissing critics as left-wing “lunatics” and arguing the ballroom 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”.
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