A federal judge orders to halt Trump’s project to build a $400 million ballroom at the White House

A federal judge ordered this Tuesday temporarily halt construction of the ballroom —valued at $400 million— that US President Donald Trump has promoted with great insistence on the former site of the East Wing of the White Housewhich was demolished in October 2025 by order of the president.

Richard Leon, judge of the District Court of the District of Columbia, has agreed with the National Foundation for the Conservation of Historical Heritagean NGO that sued the Government over the project and has prohibited both Trump Administration officials and the President’s Executive Office from “taking any action” related to the work.

In his ruling, Leon says that it is the foundation’s lawsuit is likely to “prosper in substance, given that no law even comes close to granting the president the authority that he claims to possess.

“The President of the United States is the custodian of the White House for future generations of First Families. However, is not its owner“, adds the magistrate in his writing.

“Where does this leave us? Unfortunately for the defendants, unless Congress approves this bill by legal authorization, construction must stop!“Leon wrote in his order.

The order will come into force within 14 daysa deadline that gives the Trump Administration time to appeal the decision. Leon stated that the order does not affect the works necessary to guarantee the security of the White House.

He president has taken very little time to charge against the judicial resolution. Late this Tuesday, he published a statement in his Truth Social defending the viability of the construction.

“The National Foundation for the Preservation of Historical Heritage is suing me for a ballroom that is being built under budget, ahead of schedule, at no cost to the taxpayer and that will be the best building of its kind in the entire world,” Trump said.

In his message he has called “group of radical left lunatics” to the National Foundation for the Conservation of Historical Heritage and recalled that “its financing was suspended by Congress in 2005.”

Asimismo, ha recordado que la misma fundación le demandó por la renovación del antiguo Kennedy Center, —”un edificio ruinoso y estructuralmente inseguro”—, ahora el Trump Kennedy Center, cuando “lo único que hago es arreglar, limpiar, gestionar y «poner a punto» un edificio que ha estado terriblemente descuidado”.

Así pues, el mandatario esgrime que las construcciones de ambos edificios son demandadas “por un grupo al que el Gobierno dejó de lado hace años, mientras que todos los numerosos DESASTRES de nuestro país se dejan de lado y se dejan morir. No tiene mucho sentido, ¿verdad?”.

Hard setback

Leon’s ruling represents a hard setback for Trump’s Justice Department, which opposed the court order and has defended the ballroom as a permitted alteration that modernizes the White House grounds.

In December, foundation sued Trump and several federal agencies after administration demolished East Wingoriginally built in 1902 and expanded four decades later during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency, to make way for what Trump has promised will be the “most elegant” ballroom in the country.

The group argues that neither the president nor the National Park Service, which manages the White House grounds, had the authority to tear down the historic structure or erect a major new facility without explicit congressional approval.

At a March 17 hearing, Leon pressed government lawyers on the Justice Department’s shifting explanations of the president’s authority, calling the White House grounds as a “special place” and an “emblematic symbol” of the nation.

The administration has stated that the ballroom will modernize infrastructure, bolster security and relieve pressure on the Executive Residence, which often relies on temporary outdoor structures to host large events.

Lot fOfficials emphasize that the project is financed entirely by private donorsa point that Trump has highlighted.

A panel of the United States Commission of Fine Arts, made up entirely of Trump appointees, voted 6-0 in February to approve the design.

The ballroom is part of the Trump’s broader push to reshape Washington’s monumental corewhich also includes plans for a 250-foot (76-meter) arch and changes to the Kennedy Center, a cultural landmark and performance center.