President Trump has been dealt another setback on his massive ballroom project.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that construction can only proceed on the underground, national security–related parts of the project, and not on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom the president wants to build to entertain guests.
“National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote, saying that the White House had an “incredible, if not disingenuous” interpretation of his order last month to cease construction on the $400 million ballroom until Trump got approval from Congress.
Leon’s order in March said that only construction concerning “the safety and security of the White House” was authorized, referring to the administration’s argument that an underground emergency bunker was needed to protect the president, the first lady, and White House staff. Trump argued that the order actually allowed for construction on the entire ballroom because bulletproof glass, bomb shelters, and other security measures would be part of the building.
“This is positive for us,” Trump said at the time, adding that construction would proceed as Department of Justice attorneys appealed the ruling. Last week, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Leon, appointed by President George W. Bush, needed to clarify the specific parts of the ballroom project where construction had to stop.
Leon again ruled against the administration, pointing out that Trump’s lawyers had previously said that the underground and aboveground parts of the project were independent of each other.
“The fact that the ballroom is planned to include security features such as bulletproof windows and a drone-proof roof … may well be beneficial,” Leon wrote, adding that the White House had “not provided any national security justification for why these features must be installed immediately.”
Trump is not going to take kindly to the news, having complained about not being allowed to “get a ballroom approved” on multiple occasions, and he is not known for respecting judicial independence. If he wants to build whatever he wants on federal property without congressional approval, though, he’s going to spend more time in court.