Judge orders Trump to halt White House ballroom construction, escalating legal feud

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. The ‘Outnumbered’ panel examines President Donald Trump’s reaction to the ruling halting the White House ballroom project. A U.S. judge on Thursday rebuked the Trump administration's attempt to proceed with construction of its $400 million White House ballroom project, clarifying in a sharply worded order that any above-ground, physical construction of the site is blocked unless deemed strictly necessary for national security purposes. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said his order applies to all above-ground construction of the White House ballroom project, except for actions that are explicitly necessary to protect national security facilities or protecting White House personnel. Still, he made clear that the exception was not a blank check to proceed for the administration to continue the entire 90,000-square-foot project. "National security is n