Federal judge orders pause on White House ballroom construction

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to pause construction on the White House ballroom due to the lack of congressional authorization.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued the order at the behest of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Politico reported. Leon imposed a 14-day stay on the order to allow the administration to appeal.

Trump has already leveled a wing of the White House to build the ballroom, which he has sought to build to accommodate large state events on the White House grounds.

Trump fumed against the decision on Truth Social, saying "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."

"I then get sued by them over the renovation of the dilapidated and structurally unsound former Kennedy Center, now, The Trump Kennedy Center (A show of Bipartisan Unity, a Republican and Democrat President!), where all I am doing is fixing, cleaning, running, and 'sprucing up' a terribly maintained, for many years, Building, but a Building of potentially great importance," he added.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.