‘This can’t be undone’: Trump is building something new at the White House, and the administration says stopping it would be a national security risk

A federal judge has said no to an emergency request that tried to stop construction on President Donald Trump’s huge new White House ballroom. The project can now move forward even though preservation groups are fighting it in court. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon made this decision, which is a big win for the administration but has angered groups trying to protect historic buildings.

According to Yahoo News, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the lawsuit and wanted the court to stop work right away on the 90,000-square-foot addition. They say the project breaks the law because construction started before plans were sent to important federal agencies and before Congress gave approval. President Trump spoke about the ruling at a White House Hanukkah event and thanked the judge for his courage in making what he called the right decision.

The project’s cost has grown significantly since it was first announced. Early estimates started at $200 million, then jumped to $300 million, and Trump recently mentioned a price of $400 million. Private donors, including Comcast Corp., are paying for the project along with President Trump.

The administration’s defense relies on national security claims and presidential power

The lawsuit focuses on the administration not following federal laws that require meetings with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts. The National Trust says no president can tear down parts of the White House without any review. They believe the public should have been able to give input on building such a large event space.

The Trump administration is using two main arguments to defend the project. First, they claim construction must continue for national security reasons, though they haven’t explained why. Matthew C. Quinn from the U.S. Secret Service said that stopping work even temporarily would hurt the agency’s ability to protect people. The administration offered to share secret details with the judge privately but won’t tell the other side.

Justice Department lawyers also said the president has the right to change the White House, pointing to many changes made to the building over the past 200 years. They made another legal argument: complaints about tearing down the East Wing don’t matter anymore because it can’t be reversed. This legal victory comes as Trump faces setbacks in other cases, where judges have blocked his efforts. The East Wing, which sat on top of an emergency operations bunker, was demolished in October.

The government also argues that complaints about future construction are premature because final plans for the above-ground building aren’t finished yet. However, they promised the court they would meet with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts within two weeks. This promise is complicated because Trump fired all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts in October, so the commission can’t make official decisions right now.

Judge Leon denied the emergency stop but gave a strong warning to the government. He said if any underground construction determines what happens with above-ground plans, the government should be ready to tear it down. 

Foundation work underground will start in January, and above-ground work isn’t expected until April 2026 at the earliest. Trump says the ballroom is needed for large state dinners and events with foreign leaders, replacing temporary tents on the South Lawn. The president has been dealing with Republican failures in election schemes while pushing this construction project forward. He wants the structure, which is almost twice the size of the White House before the East Wing was removed, finished by summer 2028.