Donald Trump has made no secret of his concerns that a judge might stand in the way of one of the president’s top priorities: the White House ballroom construction project.
With this in mind, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday afternoon told Trump what he didn’t want to hear: As MS NOW confirmed, Leon has granted a preliminary injunction to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, temporarily blocking the administration from “taking any action in furtherance of the physical development of the proposed ballroom at the former site of the East Wing of the White House.”
Leon wrote in his order that the president of the United States is the “steward of the White House for future generations of First Families,” adding, “He is not, however, the owner!”
The nonprofit organization that brought the lawsuit insisted that the president exceeded his authority when he destroyed the East Wing and unilaterally launched the ballroom construction project without lawmakers’ approval.
There were earlier indications that Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs’ complaint, fueling anxiety in the Oval Office. Those hints proved true.
“[N]o statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,” the court order added.








