By Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — A federal judge has again ordered President Donald Trump to pause construction of a massive new ballroom at the White House, rejecting the president’s “disingenuous” bid to circumvent an earlier ruling against the project by claiming that it needed to proceed for national security reasons.
The ruling Thursday from senior US District Judge Richard Leon is the latest episode in a winding legal saga around the controversial ballroom, which the judge said last month was being built unlawfully since Congress hadn’t expressly approved it.
Leon, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, carved out an exception so that crews could continue working on a highly sophisticated bunker being installed under the proposed ballroom. But Trump had contended that the entire project was covered by that loophole since the aboveground structure “advances critical national-security objectives as an integrated whole.”
Leon forcefully rejected that argument in his latest decision, accusing the president of advancing an “incredible, if not disingenuous” reading of his earlier ruling.
“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated,” he wrote in the 10-page decision. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”
“National security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity, and belated assertions that the above-ground ballroom is ‘inseparable’ from an array of security features are not an occasion for this Court to reweigh the equities or reconsider the preliminary injunction!” Leon wrote.
The judge reiterated that crews could continue working on the bunker and could proceed with other work “necessary to ensure the safety, security, and structural integrity of the White House” and its grounds. But he made clear that absent congressional approval of the ballroom, no above-ground construction could continue except work to cover and secure the facilities being built underground.
Anticipating a likely appeal of the ruling, Leon delayed implantation of it for one week. But he warned the White House that any above-ground work that happens during that period may need to be reversed depending on how the case plays out.
“I have no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager,” Leon wrote, adding that he trusts the president to implement his order in good faith.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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