Judge blocks Trump White House ballroom project for now
Architect Shalom Baranes shows elevation renderings of the new $400 million ballroom at the White House to members of the National Capital Planning Commission on January 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday blocked, for now, construction of the new White House ballroom that President Donald Trump has heavily praised.
District Court Judge Richard Leonby his command, He said construction of the planned $400 million ballroom “must be halted” because no legislation “could come close” to giving Trump the legal authority to build such a structure at the White House without permission from Congress.
Leon said National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United Statesfiled a lawsuit against Trump in December to stop the project., He had a good chance of winning the case.
The judge barred Trump administration officials and the President’s Chief Executive “from taking any action to advance the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the former site of the East Wing of the White House.”
The order will take effect within 14 days, Leon said. The delay gives Trump time to appeal the decision.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Leon’s order. CNBC also requested comment from the National Trust.
The decision comes months after the East Wing was demolished to make way for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, the cost of which was planned to be covered by donations from businesses and other private donors.
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. But he is not the owner,” Leon wrote in a memorandum explaining his decision. he wrote.
“President Trump claims that Congress, by existing statutes, gave him the authority to build the East Wing ballroom project and to do so with private funds,” the judge wrote.
“Plaintiff, National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States…claims that the President has no such authority under existing law and that injunctive relief is necessary to prevent irreparable harm.”
“I have concluded that the National Trust will most likely succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,” Leon wrote. “Therefore, I must APPROVAL the National Trust’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction and the ballroom construction project must be halted until Congress authorizes its completion.”
