A federal judge on Thursday denied a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, clearing the way for construction on the estimated $400 million expansion to proceed.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the injunction sought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, saying the group was unlikely to succeed on the merits. The group sued the Trump administration in December to halt construction, arguing it skipped required reviews and failed to obtain congressional approval before demolishing the East Wing of the White House.
In his order, Leon wrote that the preservation group relied on a “ragtag group of theories” under the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution.
He wrote that the challenge failed because “the White House office in question is not an agency” under the APA and because the plaintiff did not bring what was needed to challenge the president’s statutory authority to complete the project with private funds and without congressional approval.
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Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, saying the ballroom would be entirely funded by private donors.
“Great news for America, and our wonderful White House! The Judge on the case of what will be the most beautiful Ballroom anywhere in the World, has just thrown out, and completely erased, the effort to stop its construction,” Trump said. “As everyone knows, not one dollar of Taxpayer money is being spent, but rather, all money necessary to build this magnificent building is being put up by Patriot Donors and Contributors.”
Trump said construction on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom – which he said could host inauguration events and state dinners – is “ahead of schedule and under budget.”
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“It will stand long into the future as a symbol to the Greatness of America!” Trump added.
Leon left the door open for the preservation group to amend its complaint and seek reconsideration.
National Trust President and CEO Carol Quillen vowed to continue the lawsuit.
“While we are disappointed that the Court did not issue the preliminary injunction, we were pleased that Judge Leon ruled that the National Trust has standing to bring this lawsuit, as we have asserted from the start,” she said in a statement. “We are also pleased that he encouraged us to amend our complaint—specifically, to assert that the President has acted beyond his statutory authority—and we plan to do so promptly. The judge indicated he will rule expeditiously once we do so, and we will await his decision.”
The ruling came after the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the ballroom proposal last week, putting the project on the fast track ahead of further review March 5 by the National Capital Planning Commission.
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