US Court Blocks Trump Administration's Ambitious White House Ballroom Project

A US court has issued a setback to President Donald Trump. On Friday, a US federal appeals court blocked the Trump administration's ambitious White House ballroom project. A federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom to replace the demolished East Wing of the White House. The Washington-based Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, said, "Every president is a temporary tenant of the White House, not the owner, and they cannot make major changes to it without congressional approval." The order upheld a preliminary injunction obtained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The trust sued last year when the administration demolished the East Wing without congressional approval and began building a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-meter) ballroom.