Trump Ballroom Blocked by Federal Judge...Permanently
4/1/202617 mincomplete
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1:00This is really big news, folks.
1:01A federal judge in Washington, D .C.
1:04has ordered the Trump regime to halt construction of Trump's $400 million White House ballroom,
1:12ruling that the project cannot move forward unless it gets congressional approval.
1:18The federal judge who issued this order moments ago is Judge Richard Leon.
1:24He is a Republican -appointed judge.
1:27He was appointed by George W.
1:30Bush back in 2002. Let's dig into this order by this Republican -appointed judge blocking
1:38Donald Trump's ballroom unless it gets congressional approval.
1:43Folks, hide that ketchup because Donald Trump's going to start throwing things against the wall.
1:49Let's dig into this 35 -page order.
1:52It states as follows. The President of the United States is the steward of the
1:56White House for future generations of first families.
2:01He is not, however, the owner, exclamation point.
2:05President Trump, the President, claims that Congress has given him authority in existing statutes to
2:12construct his East Wing ballroom project and to do it with private funds.
2:17The plaintiff, the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, claims the President
2:23has no such authority under existing statutes and that a preliminary injunction is necessary to
2:30avoid irreparable harm. I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on
2:37the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims
2:43to have. As such, I must therefore grant the National Trust motion for a preliminary
2:50injunction and the ballroom construction project must stop immediately until Congress authorizes its completion.
2:59Now, I'll go through some of the facts and legal reasoning here, but I think
3:05it's important for you to remember as well that previously, this federal judge had denied
3:12the motion for preliminary injunction because the judge said that the National Trust did not
3:18cite the appropriate law. The National Trust then amended its complaint and in its amended
3:25filing sought a preliminary injunction.
3:28And the judge says, well, now that you've invoked the correct legal authority, this is
3:33clearly ultra virus outside the scope of presidential authority, absent congressional authorization.
3:41So this time, this federal judge, again, a GOP appointed federal judge, George W.
3:47Bush appointed federal judge, grants the injunction, blocks the ballroom.
3:51So that means ballroom construction is hereby halted.
3:55Now, Donald Trump is likely to appeal this to the Washington, D .C.
3:59Circuit Court of Appeals and take it all the way up to the Supreme Court.
4:02But I don't believe that Donald Trump will have any likelihood of prevailing there, although
4:08you never know. Let's just get into this ruling.
4:11So it has this section called background, and it talks about some of the background
4:16on the White House, the background on presidents living in the White House.
4:20Here's what it says. I'll just give a brief summary.
4:22It says, shortly after the founding, Congress passed the Residence Act of 1790, which authorized
4:29three commissioners to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of the president.
4:34And then goes on to talk about how Congress continued to authorize and fund construction
4:39and maintenance at the White House up until the present day.
4:43And it gives an example.
4:44For example, Congress authorized repairs to the White House after it suffered extensive damage during
4:50the War of 1812. It goes on to talk about in the late 1940s, after
4:54the discovery of major structural issues, Congress appropriated funds for the renovation, repair, and modernization
5:01of the White House, showing that Congress was the one who gave the authorization.
5:07The power of the purse is with Congress.
5:09And then it goes on to say, OMG, here's my料 hour all money.
5:11. . To be continued...
5:11the White House remains the official residence of the president.
5:15It sits in the president's park, a federal park administered by the National Park Services
5:21in Washington, D .C. And otherwise, in other words, you live in a park that's
5:25owned by the public. This is not your home.
5:28You are a steward of it for future generations of first families.
5:32This is not your house.
5:34The ruling then goes into the East Wing Ballroom Project by Donald Trump.
5:39And I'll give you a brief summary here.
5:41It talks about how on July 31st, 2025, the White House issued a press release
5:46announcing its plans to build a state ballroom.
5:49The ballroom, the press release stated the ballroom would be constructed at the site of
5:55the small, heavily changed and reconstructed East Wing and would encompass approximately 90 ,000 total
6:03square feet. The press release also stated that Trump and other Patriot donors have generously
6:08committed to donating the funds to build the ballroom.
6:12On October 20th, 2025, without advance notice or apparent approval, Trump announced on social media
6:19that the ground had, and Trump spelled it wrong, as the judge points out, the
6:24ground had been broken on the White House grounds to build a new big, beautiful
6:29White House ballroom. It looks extra stupid when the judge actually quotes what Donald Trump
6:33is saying. The next day, Trump showed new renderings of the proposed ballroom to the
6:38press. And that goes on to say, by October 23rd, 2025, the East Wing had
6:44been demolished in its entirety.
6:46After the demolition of the East Wing, the National Trust, a nonprofit with thousands of
6:52members who have a substantial interest in preserving and protecting historic and cultural resources in
6:58Washington, D .C., contacted various federal entities to express concerns, receiving no response.
7:05The National Trust brought this lawsuit in December 2025.
7:09Remember, we covered this lawsuit back in 2025.
7:12And remember, I was predicting that the National Trust would win.
7:16But remember, at first they lost and you were all like, but Ben, you were
7:19telling us that they were going to win.
7:21Remember my legal analysis? I said, I know they just, they haven't pled the correct
7:26causes of action yet. And then Federal Judge Leon said, okay, you know, here are
7:31the kind of defects in the complaint.
7:34And then the National Trust, I don't know if they were watching our YouTube videos.
7:37They may have been watching our YouTube videos.
7:39They said, all right, they adjusted the causes of action just to make sure they
7:44cited the right causes of action.
7:45And that cleared the way to make this, I think, appeal proof in the judge's
7:50mind so the judge could grant this injunction.
7:53So they go through that procedural history where the judge says, you know, at first
7:58the National Trust moved for a preliminary injunction.
8:02I denied it. They then amended it.
8:04And now I'm granting it.
8:05So what the judge says is that there are three major laws under consideration, three
8:12major statutes that the National Trust invokes.
8:16Number one, three USC section 105D section 105 titled assistance and service for the president
8:23provides for the employment of staff members to assist the president and authorizes appropriation for
8:29expenses related to the White House administration.
8:32More relevant here, section 105D provides, there are authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year
8:40to the president, such sums as may be necessary for the care, maintenance, repair, alteration,
8:47refurnishing, improvements, air conditioning, heating, and lighting, including electric power and fixtures of the executive
8:55residents at the White House.
8:56The statute continues sums appropriated under this subsection for expenses described in paragraph one may
9:03be expended as the president may determine, notwithstanding the provision of any other law.
9:08This statute was enacted in 1948.
9:10In other words, Congress is responsible for it.
9:13They set aside funds, but if you need more, you got to go back to
9:17Congress and ask for it.
9:1840 USC section 8106, the statute provides that a building or structure shall not be
9:24erected on any reservation park or public grounds of the federal government in the district
9:29of Columbia without express authority of Congress.
9:33This provision was originally enacted in 1912.
9:37And then 54 USC section 100 101, the National Park Service Organic Act provides that
9:44the secretary of the interior acting through the director of the NPS shall promote and
9:50regulate the use of the national park system by means and measures that conform to
9:55the fundamental purpose of the systems unit, which purposes to conserve the scenery, natural and
10:02historic objects and wildlife in the systems units and to provide for the enjoyment of
10:07the scenery, natural and historic objects.
10:09Congress later reaffirmed these purposes through the 1978 amendment known as the Redwood Amendment.
10:16So then the court goes into why the National Trust will likely win at trial
10:21to have this injunction be granted.
10:24And the court says the following, this case in essence is about whether the president
10:28has the authority to build a ballroom on the White House grounds with private funds
10:34without seeking authorization from Congress.
10:36The National Trust asserts that the defendants were ultra vires of the statutory authority and
10:43violate the APA, meaning outside the bounds of.
10:47But why do defendants even need statutory authority in the first place?
10:51The Constitution shows why. The property clause vests Congress with complete authority over public lands.
10:59See United States Constitution, Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2.
11:03The Congress shall have the power to dispose of and make all needful rules and
11:08regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States.
11:13That's why defendants, Trump regime, need statutory authority in the first place.
11:18It's in the damn Constitution.
11:21Congress exercises the power both as the proprietor and of a legislature over the public
11:27domain, and those powers are without limitations.
11:31This broad grant of authority extends to personal and real property rightfully belonging to the
11:37United States. The Appropriation Clause of the Constitution provides that money may be drawn from
11:42the Treasury only in consequence of appropriations made by law.
11:48In other words, Congress has to pass a law.
11:50The District Clause gives Congress legislative authority over the District of Columbia.
11:56The Constitution conferred this power on Congress in broad terms.
12:00Together, the Property Clause, the Appropriations Clause, and the District Clause establish congressional primacy over
12:08federal property spending and the District of Columbia.
12:12Indeed, Trump defendant have declined to argue that they have any inherent constitutional authority to
12:19build a ballroom. So the president must identify some law that allows him to demolish
12:25the East Wing and construct his planned ballroom with private funds.
12:29For the following reasons, I conclude the National Trust is likely to succeed on the
12:34merits on its ultra -virus claims because no law comes close to giving the president
12:41this authority. Defendants argue that successive preliminary injunction motions are improper, but there is no
12:48per se bar. And here, change circumstances for counsel in favor considering this motion.
12:55In other words, the counsel came up with a new argument, and this argument is
13:01the right one that the judge was looking for in the first place.
13:05So for those reasons, the court says this is congressional authority, not under Donald Trump's
13:10authority. And because Congress holds the keys to the nation's property, the president must have
13:16some statutory basis to build the ballroom, 40 USC Section 8106, or you take a
13:22look at 3 USC Section 105.
13:26It's like, okay, defendants, you claim to rely on 3 USC 105 D1 as your
13:32authority to construct a ballroom.
13:34But as the court says, let's start with this kind of statute, is an authorization
13:40for appropriations. Section 105 says, there are authorized to be appropriated each fiscal year to
13:47the president's sums of money as may be necessary.
13:50So in other words, what do these statutes authorize the presidents to do?
13:55What they authorize the president to do is the limited stuff that's in it.
14:00And if you want to alter or improve or do other things as well, you
14:06need to go back and you need to seek congressional funding and congressional laws is
14:12what the court ultimately rules.
14:13Let's take a look right here at the conclusion of this 35 page order where
14:20the court says, where does this leave us?
14:23Unfortunately for defendants, Trump, unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction
14:30has to stop! Exclamation point.
14:33But here's the good news.
14:34It's not too late for Congress to authorize the continued construction of the ballroom project.
14:39The president may at any time go to Congress to obtain express authority to construct
14:44a ballroom and to do so with private funds.
14:46Indeed, Congress may even choose to appropriate funds itself for the ballroom or at least
14:51decide at some other funding scheme is acceptable.
14:54Either way, Congress will thereby retain its authority over the nation's property and its oversight
15:00over government spending. The national trust interests and a constitutional and lawful process will be
15:05vindicated and the American people will benefit from the branches of government executing their constitutionally
15:11prescribed roles. Not a bad outcome.
15:15Not a bad outcome that the federal judge says so ordered Judge Richard Leon.
15:23And before we go, I'm just going to show you Donald Trump talking about his
15:26ballroom right now as well.
15:29Here it is right here.
15:31Here he was on Air Force One talking about the ballroom.
15:33Let's play it. But I think we have it automatically.
15:37I did something today. We just got these in from the architects.
15:42A lot of people are talking about how beautiful the ballroom.
15:46For 150 years, they've wanted to build a ballroom at the White House.
15:54And other presidents have wanted it.
15:57When we have dignitaries coming like President Xi of China or anybody else, we have
16:02very small rooms and not big enough to handle the kind of capacity.
16:07that you need. And here's another clip right here of Trump talking about the ballroom
16:11on Air Force One that has now been blocked.
16:13Let's play it. And that porch will be magnificent looking in between the columns.
16:19They no longer, we took the stairs out that were on the south side and
16:23really replaced them with these stairs.
16:26So you have an open porch and you have the closed porch under the columns
16:29overlooking the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial slash monument.
16:38So that's great. This is a view of the columns as they are going to
16:48be made. They're going to be hand carved and they're beautiful.
16:51Top of the line, there'll be Corinthian, which is considered the best, most beautiful by
16:56far. There you have it, folks.
16:58Let me know what you think.
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