WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered construction halted on the ritzy $400 million White House ballroom project until Congress gives its approval — but President Trump said he won’t stop the renovation.
The order from Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, marks the first consequential setback Trump has endured in his quest to construct the 90,000 square feet ballroom where the East Wing once stood.
“Unfortunately for Defendants, unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop! But here is the good news. It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project,” Leon wrote in a 35-page opinion.
President Trump has pushed to build a ballroom at the White House for well over a decade. AP
“The American people will benefit from the branches of Government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles. Not a bad outcome, that!”
Trump said he will appeal the decision and will continue to build his ballroom. Leon delayed the implementation of his injunction by 14 days to give Trump time to file the legal objection.
Trump, reading from the ruling, pointed to passages where it stated the president is allowed to ensure the “safety and security” of the building and the grounds.
“That’s what we’re doing, because everything’s bulletproof glass,” he explained in response to a question from The Post in the Oval Office. “It’s bulletproof and it’s ballistic proof. It’s very thick. It’s like that, and it’s going 45 feet high, and every window is covered, every door is covered, the roof is drone proof. We have secure air handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air.”
Based on that, he said construction can continue.
“We have all of these things. So that’s called, I’m allowed to continue building as necessary. So think of that for the safety of the president. So we have all these things so on that we’re okay,” he said.
Earlier, Trump bemoaned on Truth Social the litany of organizations the National Trust for Historic Preservation didn’t sue, such as California for the controversial high-speed rail project or the Federal Reserve for its over-budget renovations.
“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 said.
“Doesn’t make much sense.”
President Trump unveiled the latest renditions of the White House ballroom design on Sunday. REUTERS
The National Trust is also suing him over renovations of the Trump-Kennedy Center, which is being litigated separately from the ballroom case.
Shortly after the East Wing, the historical domain of the first lady’s office, was demolished last October, the National Trust slapped a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to stop construction of the ballroom. It argued the project was pursued without any input from Congress.
The National Trust is a private group Congress chartered and tasked with preserving historic US sites.
Leon repeatedly allowed construction to continue in December and February, though he did caution that the administration should be prepared to have to knock down what it builds amid the litigation.
Judge Richard Leon previously declined to pause construction on the White House ballroom project. AP
Last month, Leon suggested the National Trust would need to rework its lawsuit in order to get ballroom construction paused, which it ultimately did.
Trump’s team previously argued in federal court that pausing construction on the ballroom project would pose a threat to national security, alluding to work being done on the doomsday bunker that sits below where the East Wing used to be.
Over the weekend, Trump alluded to the “massive” military complex being worked on in tandem with the ballroom project. The president also showcased the latest renditions of the design for the new ballroom, something that came on the heels of a scathing New York Times critique of the project.
Prior to the setback from Leon, Trump had overcome numerous hurdles to build the ballroom. Last month, for example, he got the green light from Washington, DC’s Commission on Fine Arts, which he staffed with loyalists.
The ballroom is designed to eclipse the size of the White House. Trump has publicly pushed for the White House to add a ballroom for well over a decade, having offered to pay for one when Barack Obama was president.