Donald Trump has voiced outrage after a judge ordered a halt to the construction of his $400m ballroom at the White House.
US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts the construction project on the site where the East Wing of the White House was demolished.
The legal action was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to obtain an order to pause construction until the plan has undergone independent reviews and obtained congressional approval.
Donald Trump holds an image of the ballroom plans. Pic: Reuters
The judge wrote: “I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
The judge suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days, acknowledging that the case “raises novel and weighty issues, that halting an ongoing construction project “may raise logistical issues”.
In response, Mr Trump branded the National Trust for Historic Preservation “a radical left group of lunatics whose funding was stopped by Congress in 2005”.
He added that the group “sues me for a ballroom that is under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the taxpayer, and will be the finest building of its kind anywhere in the world”.
The major construction project has been funded by private donors, including Mr Trump himself.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom will be able to hold 999 people, Mr Trump has said.
Mr Trump has championed the ballroom as a defining addition to the White House, that will modernise the presidential residence.
He has declared the extension will be the “finest” ballroom in the country.
The National Trust first sued Trump and several federal agencies in December after the administration demolished the East Wing, which was originally constructed in 1902 and expanded four decades under Franklin Roosevelt.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
