Judge Blocks Trump's White House Ballroom Plan

0:00It's March 31st. From your city to your ears, this is Dallas News Today, powered by AI. A federal judge just slammed the brakes on President Trump's plans to build a 90,000 square foot ballroom in place of the White House East. Wing, US District Judge Richard Leon ruled the project, lacks legal backing without Congress, signing off, saying no statute gives the president that kind, of solo power. The block kicks in 14 days from now. This stems from a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who hit the administration last December for skipping federal rules before, tearing down the wing and starting construction. The $400 million price tag comes mostly from private donors like Big Core, funneled through a non-profit to a White House repair, account. Preservation folks and congressional Democrats are fired up, calling it a major change without public say so. Some fires back, touting it as a taxpayer-free upgrade that's ahead of schedule and under

1:00budget. He even blasted the trust on truth social, as radical left lunatics ignoring his other fights. Judge Leon flipped his earlier call from February when he let work continue temporarily. Now he's calling the funding setup a convoluted Rube Goldbird machine, and stressing the White House is a national icon, not the president's personal, playground. Those holes the keys here, Trump can still push for approval to keep building or use private cash legally. Until then, the ballroom's on ice. Part of Trump's bigger push to reshape DC landmarks.