It's war on all fronts
/
Trump’s $400M White House ballroom project halted by fed judge
A gloating, jubilant judge — his opinion is littered with exclamation points — has demanded that that construction of the White House ballroom be stopped. The building is gone, the new foundations poured, and the steel superstructure is being erected. Does’t matter, according to this little man in a black robe: "Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!"… "But here is the good news. It is not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project."
“With Congressional approval, the legislative branch would "retain its authority over the nation’s property and its oversight over the government’s spending."
"The National Trust’s interests in a constitutional and lawful process will be vindicated," he continued. "And the American people will benefit from the branches of government exercising their constitutionally prescribed roles."
"Not a bad outcome, that!"
r,r 78, 81. Demolition work has been largely completed, and work on "footings and belowgrade structural concrete" began in February 2026. Deel. of John Stanwich ("Stanwich Deel.") [Dkt. #14-6] ,r 20. "Above[-]grade structural work" is "anticipated to begin" in April 2026. Id. Indeed, President Trump has stated that ballroom construction is "ahead of schedule." Pl.'s Renewed PI Br. at 23 (quoting Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social (Feb. 10, 2026, at 1 :41 PM ET), https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump /posts/116047799547098230). According to the parties' filings, the ballroom plans are in the final stages of the design approval process. The Commission of Fine Arts approved designs on February 27, 2026. See T. Luebke to J. Fisher, CFA 19/FEB/26-1, https://perma.cc/CV2F-VE6M (cited in Suppl. Deel. of Heather Martin ("Martin Suppl. Deel.") [Dkt. #52-2] ,r 6). The National Capital Planning Commission has reviewed detailed "final" plans for the ballroom and is scheduled to vote on the design on April 2, 2026.
The plan here, the one that will “benefit the American public”, is to stop Trump; stop the project; tear out everything that’s been built so far, and leave a hole in the ground until the Democrats can regain control, possibly as early as November and set about establishing a commission to design and build something lie the J.Edgar Hoover building on the taxpayers’ dime at ten times the cost of this privately-funded project and with an completion date of 2026.
That’ll teach him!