The corruption of the federal judiciary reared its ugly head again on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of the District of Columbia, a George W. Bush appointee, ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of the White House ballroom project until it seeks and is granted congressional approval.
Leon’s ruling states: “I must therefore GRANT the National Trust’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, and the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion.”
According to the Associated Press, Judge Leon:
[G]ranted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project. He concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
Leon began his ruling by 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!”
Recognizing that this case “raises novel and weighty issues” and that “halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues,” Leon suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days.
[This period coincides with the planned start of “above ground construction.”]
Given that a portion of the East Wing of the White House was demolished in October in preparation for the ballroom, and that preliminary construction, “footings and below-grade structural concrete,” began in February, it seems an odd time to be slamming the brakes on the project.
The Trump administration immediately filed a notice to appeal. Asked about the ruling in a Tuesday afternoon Oval Office press conference, Trump replied, “We built many things at the White House over the years. They don’t get congressional approval.”
In a scathing — and lengthy — Truth Social post, Trump called the National Trust “a Radical Left Group of Lunatics whose funding was stopped by Congress in 2005.”
[Politico fact checked this claim and found that “Congress stopped providing for the organization in 2005, and the group has since been largely privately funded.”]
In a later post, Trump wrote:
In the Ballroom case, the Judge said we have to get Congressional approval. 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 this case, even less so, because the Ballroom is being built with Private Donations, no Federal Taxpayer Money! President DONALD J. TRUMP
The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to convene on Thursday and is expected to approve the White House ballroom construction project, according to the Associated Press. Stephen Staudigl, a spokesperson for the commission, said “the judge’s ruling does not affect the schedule for Thursday.”
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (the group that filed the lawsuit), was delighted with Leon’s ruling. She issued a statement that read:
We are pleased with Judge Leon’s ruling today to order a halt to any further ballroom construction until the Administration complies with the law and obtains express authorization to go forward.”This is a win for the American people on a project that forever impacts one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation. The group had sued in hopes of obtaining an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receives congressional approval.
Notably, Leon’s ruling exempts “any construction work that’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House.” Leon said he “reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn’t jeopardize national security.”
Simply put, like so many of the injunctions issued by federal judges and intended to thwart the Trump administration’s agenda, Leon’s injunction is a temporary legal obstacle, rather than a kill shot for the ballroom project.
Although I could be very wrong, I see it as a nuisance that must be dealt with rather than a fatal blow. It halts construction for now while the case brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation proceeds. It signals the judge thinks the plaintiffs have a credible legal argument worth fully considering.
[As Trump revealed on Sunday, the plans call for a “massive military complex” to be built beneath the ballroom. I reported on this story here.]
And while this would mark the most radical change any president has made to the White House, the case for a proper ballroom is undeniable. The temporary tents that are erected for large events are an inconvenient and unsightly workaround that fall well short of the setting.
In the end, this is less about a ballroom than it is about power — who wields it, and who gets to obstruct it. The injunction may slow the project, but it’s unlikely to stop it. If anything, it underscores how readily the courts are being used to challenge presidential authority at every turn. Whether the ballroom rises or not, this clash is just one more chapter in a broader struggle that is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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