A federal judge made his feelings clear about the Justice Department’s arguments over President Donald Trump‘s $400 million White House ballroom project. At a hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon appeared largely unimpressed by what the DOJ’s lawyers had to say.
The central issue is Trump’s plan to demolish the White House’s entire East Wing to build a large event space, without getting congressional approval. Work crews already demolished the facade of the East Wing on October 20, 2025, making the legal matter even more pressing.
