Judge orders suspension of Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction

The judge said Donald Trump 'is the steward of the White House' but not the owner 

The demolition of the East Wing and construction for the new ballroom at the White House in October. Picture: Katie Harbath via AP

A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to suspend its construction of a $400m (€346m) ballroom at the White House, which led to the demolition of the structure’s East Wing.

In Washington, US district judge Richard Leon granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts US president Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.

Judge Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican president George W Bush, 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 US congress.

The White House announced the ballroom project last summer.

By late October, Mr Trump had demolished the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that he said will fit 999 people.

The White House said private donations, including from Mr Trump himself, would pay for the planned construction of a 90,000sq-ft (8,400-square-metre) ballroom.

Mr 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 president has stocked both commission with allies.