Washington – US President Donald Trump’s controversial plans to redesign his official residence have been legally thwarted. Federal District Judge Richard Leon stopped construction work on the 8,360 square meter new ballroom at the White House on Tuesday. A president does not own the White House, Leon stated in the first lines of his judgment. He followed an application by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for an interim injunction. This means that the $400 million construction project is on hold until the preservationists’ lawsuit is heard. They accuse Trump of exceeding his authority when he demolished the historic East Wing and began construction on the new building without congressional approval.
