A federal judge issued a revised injunction after the appeals court asked him to clarify earlier limits, and judge leon national security ruling now bars above ground construction of the planned 90,000-square-foot, $400 million White House ballroom.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote that the administration cannot treat national security as a blank check, and he rejected the Justice Department argument that the entire project is inseparable from security features.
The amended order allows below-ground construction to proceed, including construction of national security facilities, and permits limited above-ground work strictly necessary to cover and protect those underground features, provided that such work does not lock in the ballroom’s above-ground size and scale.
Leon noted the White House has told the court the ballroom will not be completed until 2028, and he said planned security features remain months or years away from being realized, undercutting claims of immediate irreparable harm.
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The Justice Department notified the court it would appeal, and Leon paused his order for seven days to give the government time to seek review at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the lawsuit challenging the project, and CEO Carol Quillen said the group is pleased the court upheld the preliminary injunction and halted above-ground work until Congress approves the project.
Leon criticized the administration for shifting positions, citing prior statements that below-ground work was driven by separate national security concerns, and he described the defendants’ new claim that the ballroom is essential as incredible and disingenuous.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, calling the judge a Trump hating judge and arguing the ballroom is vital for presidential safety at events, inaugurations, and global summits, and calling the ruling a mockery of the court system.
The preservation group accused the administration of a brazen contortion of vocabulary, noting the government had previously treated the bunker and underground facilities as separate from any ballroom above, and the group mocked the idea that bunkers need a 90,000-square-foot, 40-foot-ceiling ballroom on top of them.
