As a former businessman, I'm pretty good at programming, so I created a macro that automatically prints: “Federal Judge Issues Restraining Order Against Trump Plan… [fill in the blank.]»
Okay, I'm exaggerating, but I could—I feel like not a day goes by without a lawyer coming in and, as RedState's Bonci likes to say, “jumping off the third rope” to kneecap Trump's initiative. So it was quite surprising when news broke Tuesday night that a federal judge in the District of Columbia rejected block construction of the Trump Ballroom, despite the lawsuit from a group of activists of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They said the administration began work before the plans were submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission and did so without consulting Congress.
It wasn't enough to move US District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee. at least for now:
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request from preservationists to stop the $300 million White House ballroom project, concluding that allowing underground construction to continue in the coming weeks is unlikely to cause irreparable harm to those who oppose the plan.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the National Trust for Historic Preservation's request for a temporary restraining order but said he would hear arguments early next year on whether to issue a long-term preliminary injunction against the project.
Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the victory, even though many battles remain in the case:
Today @TheJusticeDept attorneys fought off an attempt to stop President Trump's perfectly legal project to modernize the East Wing and State Ballroom.
President Trump has faced countless bad-faith legal attacks from the left—and this case was no different.
We will continue to protect…
— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@Agpambondi) December 16, 2025
In the coming weeks, we will continue to defend the president's project in court.
As I mentioned, the battle is not over and the administration will need to provide the judge with an update. on schedule:
The Trump administration told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday that it plans to meet with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts within the next “two weeks” to review the plans, which Justice Department lawyer Adam Gustafson told the court are not yet finalized.
Thad Heuer, an attorney for the National Trust, joked that with this administration“It will always happen in the next two weeks.”
“The court will hold them accountable,” the judge responded. “They have until the end of this month.”
The left acts as if Trump is the first president to ever consider modernizing and updating the White House, but he is not:
If you're willing to do a little searching, you'll find that the original idea for the ballroom came long before Trump, and the original idea was for the two sides to match, as you can see in the photos. They simply didn't have the tax dollars to fund the project. Now Trump and… pic.twitter.com/tBtyOJFHuZ
— Mike Netter (@nettermike) November 8, 2025
Now Trump and private donors are paying to make it happen.
It's a shame to see leftists and Democrats complaining about the cost of Trump's huge ballroom when it entirely privately funded – even when Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was asleep at the wheel while hundreds of millions of dollars were cheated out of federally funded nutrition programs is under the control of the state. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, has been criticizing the ballroom project in endless rude tweets, but he himself doesn't know or won't reveal how much the massive State Capitol project is costing taxpayers, even though it's being built right across the street from his office.
Renovating your Capitol is costing California taxpayers $1.1 billion – 4 times more than the privately funded White House Ballroom that costs taxpayers NOTHING. https://t.co/Bd9TkXMeFD pic.twitter.com/xOOOtGrIsk
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 21, 2025
LOOK IN THE MIRROR, GAVIN: Even though Newsom trashed the WH Ballroom, the Cat is tongue-tied when asked about California's mysterious $1 billion Capitol project
The legal battle over the big project will continue, but it was nice to write, at least for one day, that a federal judge had essentially given up the opportunity to derail the agenda of a duly elected president. As my grandmother might say, “Miracles never stop.”
Editor's note: President Trump is leading America into a Gilded Age, and Democrats are desperate to stop him.
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