Overview
- Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday that pauses construction of President Trump's planned ballroom on the former East Wing site.
- The order takes effect in 14 days to allow an appeal and bars administration officials and the Executive Office from taking any actions tied to the project.
- Leon wrote that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to prevail because no statute grants the president the authority he asserts.
- The Department of Justice opposed the injunction and argued the ballroom is a permissible modernization of the White House grounds.
- The dispute followed the October 2025 demolition of the 1902 East Wing to clear space for an 8,361-square-meter hall, raising questions about how far a president can alter a public historic site without Congress.