Donald Trump launched a furious tirade after a federal judge halted construction of his vanity project: the $400 million White House ballroom.
In a decision that puts the controversial project under a cloud, at least for now, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the National Trust Preservation Committee, who had accused the president of overstepping his authority to fast-track the controversial project.
“I have concluded that the National Trust is likely to succeed on the merits because no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have,” wrote Leon, who was appointed under Republican president George W Bush.
“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!”
The decision to put project on hold while Trust’s lawsuit continues has enraged Trump, who took to social media on Tuesday afternoon to accuse the group of being a bunch of “radical left lunatics”.
But despite insisting that the project would “not interfere” with the existing White House building, the plans have expanded substantially since they were announced—and so too has the original $100 million price tag.
Hours before the ruling, the president had posted pictures of the ballroom renderings on Truth Social—the same images he showed off to reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday when he confirmed the military was building a new “massive complex” underneath the White House.
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