Judge halts aboveground construction of Trump's White House ballroom

A US judge has halted construction of the above ground portion of President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project, but has allowed plans for an underground bunker to proceed. Judge Richard Leon wrote in his ruling on Thursday that Congress must approve the project, adding that Trump appeared to be trying to side-step a previous court order by reclassifying the ballroom plans as vital for national security. "National security is not a blank cheque to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity," the judge wrote. The justice department has filed a notice of an appeal. Trump wrote on social media that the ballroom was "needed now" and that "no judge can be allowed to stop" it. It is the latest setback for Trump's ballroom plans after the judge temporarily halted the construction project in late March, ruling that proper procedures were not followed before it began. That decision came after the White House was sued by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the lawsuit, the preservation group argued that the White House had broken the law by beginning construction without filing plans with the National Capital Planning Commission, by not seeking an environmental assessment