President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out at a federal judge who blocked aboveground construction of his proposed White House ballroom, calling the ruling politically motivated and a threat to national security.
"The White House doesn’t have a Ballroom (No Taxpayer Money!), which Presidents have desperately wanted and desired for over 150 years, but a Trump Hating, Washington, D.C. District Court Judge, a man who has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn’t get built, is attempting to prevent future Presidents and World Leaders from having a safe and secure large scale Meeting Place, or Ballroom," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Trump noted the ballroom would have "Bomb Shelters, a State of the Art Hospital and Medical Facilities, Protective Partitioning, Top Secret Military Installations, Structures, and Equipment, Protective Missile Resistant Steel, Columns, Roofs, and Beams, Drone Proof Ceilings and Roofs, Military Grade Venting, and Bullet, Ballistic, and Blast Proof Glass —which all means that no future President, living in the White House without this Ballroom, can ever be Safe and Secure at Events, Future Inaugurations, or Global Summits."
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a ruling Thursday that continues to block aboveground construction on the $400 million White House ballroom, at the site.
Leon's latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court's instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom planned for the site where the East Wing of the White House was demolished.
The administration said it would appeal. Trump said "the Ballroom, which is being constructed on budget and ahead of schedule, is needed now."
"Almost all material necessary for its construction is being built and/or on its way to the site, ready for installation and erection. Much of it has already been paid for, costing Hundreds of Millions of Dollars," he wrote.
Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued to challenge the project, said in a statement that the group is pleased with the court’s ruling.
Trump said anybody with a complaint should've come forward before construction began.
"The Public Record was open for all to see. Everybody knew that it was planned, and going to be built," he said.
"This highly political Judge, and his illegal overreach, is out of control, and costing our Nation greatly. This is a mockery to our Court System!" Trump continued.
"The Ballroom is deeply important to our National Security, and no Judge can be allowed to stop this Historic and Militarily Imperative Project."
Government lawyers have argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles, and biohazards.
In his previous order, Leon barred aboveground work on the ballroom from proceeding without congressional approval. The judge also ruled on March 31 that any construction work that's necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction.
Leon said he reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn't jeopardize national security.
The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the bunker construction and security upgrades.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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