A US federal court has ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom that was built after the demolition of the East Wing of the White House.
US District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group’s request for an injunction that halts Trump’s White House ballroom project.
In his order, Judge Leon wrote, “I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
"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 National Trust for Historic Preservation sued for an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress.
The White House announced the ballroom project over the summer.
By late October, Trump had demolished the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that he said would fit 999 people. The White House said private donations, including from Trump himself, would pay for the planned construction of a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-metre) ballroom.
“Ahead of schedule”
Trump proceeded with the project before seeking input from a pair of federal review panels, the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts.
The project faced criticism in the US, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer slamming the Trump administration for the $400 million ballroom at the White House and questioning its funding source.
On Sunday, Trump said that the planned White House ballroom was "ahead of schedule and under budget.”
Trump showed off new renderings of the ballroom as he defended the project, which required demolishing the White House East Wing.
"We're doing very well, so we're ahead of schedule," Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned to Washington on Sunday evening after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
