Trump wanted to spend $400 million on the White House, but the courts prohibited the million-dollar construction.

Written by Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Published on 31/03/2026 at 23:07

Be the first to react!

Judge temporarily suspends the $400 million ballroom project at the White House, requiring Congress approval before work continues

A federal judge has ruled that U.S. President Donald Trump cannot proceed with the construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House without Congress’s authorization. The decision by Judge Richard Leon, granted on Tuesday, temporarily halts work at the site of the demolished East Wing of the Presidential Palace.

Action by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The measure was taken following a request for a preliminary injunction from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed a lawsuit claiming that Trump exceeded his authority by demolishing a historic part of the White House and starting construction of the new building.

Judge Leon, appointed by George W. Bush, agreed with the group’s argument, stating that there are no laws granting the president the necessary permission to proceed with the project without Congress’s approval.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Trump’s response and Justice Department appeal

The Justice Department immediately filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking to overturn the judge’s decision. Meanwhile, the court order will be stayed for 14 days to allow for contestation.

Trump reacted with criticism of the National Trust, calling the group “leftist lunatics” and highlighting that the ballroom is within budget and being built at no cost to the taxpayer.

In a social media post, Trump emphasized the importance of the project, defending it as an essential addition to the White House and a symbol of his presidency.

The 8,360-square-foot (approximately 90,000 square feet) project remains on hold as the legal process unfolds.

Repercussions on historical impact

The suspension of the project has been seen as a victory by many, especially by advocates of historic preservation. “This is a victory for the American people in a project that will forever impact one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation,” declared the spokesperson for the National Trust.

The action also highlights the debate over the preservation of historic buildings and the president’s authority to make significant modifications to the historic site.

Trump wanted to spend $400 million on the White House, but the courts prohibited the million-dollar construction.

Judge temporarily suspends the $400 million ballroom project at the White House, requiring Congress approval before work continues

Action by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Trump’s response and Justice Department appeal

Repercussions on historical impact

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

The United States purchased for $125 million a ship that Shell used for drilling oil in the Arctic, spent another $25 million refurbishing it, and renamed it Storis because the largest economy on the planet can no longer build an icebreaker on its own.

Carnivorous dinosaur in China left footprints at just 1 km/h and surprised researchers in the field with more than 5,000 tracks preserved for over 100 million years.

The largest car carrier ship in the world will unload 7,200 BYD cars at the SC Port in June, but before that, an Italian ship will arrive this Tuesday with another 4,500 vehicles, totaling 11,700 cars, 150 workers, and a 24-hour non-stop operation at the Port of Itajaí.

African country launched a $145 million project to rehabilitate 35 dams and drill deep wells seeking water stored for millennia beneath the desert, a plan that Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government presents as a path to the country’s water sovereignty.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.

Trump wanted to spend $400 million on the White House, but the courts prohibited the million-dollar construction.

Judge temporarily suspends the $400 million ballroom project at the White House, requiring Congress approval before work continues

Action by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Trump’s response and Justice Department appeal

Repercussions on historical impact

With billions in loans, China is rebuilding Nigeria’s railway network from scratch, abandoning the British colonial tracks that have turned to scrap and creating a corridor of over 1,300 km to take the load off the roads of Africa’s largest economy.

Forget petroleum-based asphalt: a Scottish company transforms 684,000 plastic bottles into one kilometer of road that is 60% more resistant and up to 10 times more durable, and the technology has already started replacing traditional asphalt in more than 30 countries.

China is building an artificial island in the middle of the sea, covering 20 km², to construct the largest offshore airport in the world, the Dalian Jinzhouwan. This $4.3 billion project is anchored on more than 3,000 pillars embedded in the rock beneath the ocean and is scheduled to open in 2035.

Austrian engineers have developed an inflatable concrete technology that transforms flat slabs into domes using only air pressure, eliminating scaffolding and temporary forms, and potentially changing the way bridges, tunnels, and curved roofs are constructed worldwide.

A robot named Walter does the work of five bricklayers per hour and can save the construction industry, where the average age of professionals is 46 years and almost no one wants to learn the trade anymore, in the United Kingdom.

Spain installs two giant pipelines 2.2 km off the coast to draw water from the Mediterranean and supply a megafacility capable of producing 200 million liters of drinking water per day.

Without wheels, iron, or machines, teams of up to 32 men would have dragged 2.3-ton blocks over wet sand up a ramp embedded in the pyramid itself, raising the structure in 20 to 27 years, according to a new computer model that reignites a millennia-old debate.

Almost no ship sails directly between South America and Australia, and the reason is a combination of the vast distance, winds that circle the planet nonstop, and the absence of ports along the way, leaving the South Pacific as a water desert.

More than 85 million homes in China heat water for free with vacuum glass tubes invented at a Chinese university, a cheap technology with no moving parts that faces certification rules and codes in the United States, making installation too expensive.

In a boat just 1.19 meters long, smaller than many kayaks, Briton Andrew Bedwell wants to cross nearly 3,000 kilometers of the North Atlantic alone and spend more than two months without being able to lie down or stand up, all to break a record and honor cancer victims.

While most dealerships in Brazil take days to deliver cars, in Germany two 48-meter glass towers hold 800 vehicles and release each model via automatic elevators in a few seconds.

In Japan, a 40 by 60-meter concrete museum without pillars rises like a floating drop, allowing wind, light, and rain inside the space and surprising architects and engineers with the delicacy of the structure.

The United States purchased for $125 million a ship that Shell used for drilling oil in the Arctic, spent another $25 million refurbishing it, and renamed it Storis because the largest economy on the planet can no longer build an icebreaker on its own.

Carnivorous dinosaur in China left footprints at just 1 km/h and surprised researchers in the field with more than 5,000 tracks preserved for over 100 million years.

The largest car carrier ship in the world will unload 7,200 BYD cars at the SC Port in June, but before that, an Italian ship will arrive this Tuesday with another 4,500 vehicles, totaling 11,700 cars, 150 workers, and a 24-hour non-stop operation at the Port of Itajaí.

African country launched a $145 million project to rehabilitate 35 dams and drill deep wells seeking water stored for millennia beneath the desert, a plan that Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government presents as a path to the country’s water sovereignty.

A 400-meter colossus powered by natural gas has just set sail from Shanghai to Europe, carrying over 24,000 containers. It is the world’s largest dual-fuel container ship and can cross the planet without refueling even once.