Judge temporarily halts construction of Trump's White House ballroom

A US judge has temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction project from continuing, ruling that proper procedures were not followed before the building project began.

The ruling comes after the White House was sued by The National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"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," said Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by a Republican president.

Trump has criticised the ruling on his social media site, saying that the project is going well, and "will be the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World".

The Trump administration has previously said its plan was more economical than renovating the East Wing. It also noted that many presidents had made changes to the White House

Leon's ruling, published on Tuesday, continued: "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!"

"(U)nless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!" he added.

The judge's ruling takes effect in 14 days, allowing a possible appeal.

In the lawsuit, the preservation group argued that the White House broke the law by beginning construction without filing plans with the National Capital Planning Commission, by not seeking an environmental assessment of the project, and by declining to seek authorisation from Congress.

It also alleged Trump was violating the US Constitution, "which reserves to Congress the right to dispose of and make all rules regarding property belonging to the United States".

The East Wing, which was constructed in 1902, was demolished in October to make way for Trump's multi-million dollar ballroom, which he says is being paid for by private donors.

Since then, the proposed blueprint has expanded from a ballroom with a capacity of 500 people to a space that can fit 1,350 guests.

The White House says the project is expected to cost $400m (£302m) and is being funded entirely by private donors.

Reacting to the judge's decision, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site: "The National Trust for Historic Preservation sues me for a Ballroom that is under budget, ahead of schedule, being built at no cost to the Taxpayer, and will be the finest Building of its kind anywhere in the World."

He also criticised the group that brought the lawsuit, noting that they had also sued to stop his renovation of the Kennedy Center, which Trump recently renamed after himself.

"All I am doing is fixing, cleaning, running, and 'sprucing up' a terribly maintained, for many years, Building," Trump wrote about the concert venue in Washington DC.

In his post, Trump also said of the legal action against him: "Doesn't make much sense, does it?"