The Latest Breaking News from Richard Leon

A Bush-appointed judge obliterated the DOJ’s attempt to justify Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom

Brought out the wrecking ball without Congressional approval.

We Got This Covered · Mar 19

Judge indicates he might shut down Trump’s $400m White House ballroom plan

‘I’m struggling to see this as an “alteration”,’ judge said amid lawsuit seeking to halt construction until president has won congressional approval

The Guardian - US · Mar 18

Federal judge grills Trump administration lawyers over ‘brazen’ plans for president’s $400M White House ballroom

Calling the project ‘an alteration…takes some brazen interpretation of the laws of vocabulary,’ the judge said

The Independent UK · Mar 18

Judge Preliminarily Blocks Military Disciplinary Measures Against Senator (and Retired Navy Captain) Mark Kelly

An excerpt from Judge Richard Leon's long (and exclamation-point-filled) opinion today in Kelly v. Hegseth (D.D.C.): United States Senator Mark… The post Judge Preliminarily Blocks Military Disciplinary Measures Against Senator (and Retired Navy Captain) Mark Kelly appeared first on Reason.com.

Reason · Feb 12

US judge blocks Hegseth’s bid to punish Mark Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ video

Judge reprimands defense secretary over attempt to reduce Arizona senator’s military rank and pension

The Guardian - US · Feb 12

Trump now wants his triumphal arch to be 250ft tall, dwarfing other Washington, DC monuments

President said in December he hoped to start building within two months at Memorial Circle

The Independent UK · Jan 31

Trump claims $400 million ballroom lawsuit accidentally exposed a military secret he wasn’t supposed to spill

Trump is not backing down from his passion project.

We Got This Covered · Jan 26

Trump launches 450-word rant about his ballroom and says a lawsuit to stop it being built would be ‘devastating’ for US

‘Making such a large gift to the U.S.A. was thought to be, by almost everyone, ‘A WONDERFUL THING TO DO’ — But no, as usual, I got sued,’ the president laments on Truth Social

The Independent UK · Jan 25

‘This can’t be undone’: Trump is building something new at the White House, and the administration says stopping it would be a national security risk

Trump's ballroom gets controversial green light

We Got This Covered · Dec 18, 2025

Would Releasing the Martin Luther King Files Help Curb the Surveillance State?

The FBI spied on the civil rights leader for years. Would releasing its surveillance files just be a further violation of King's privacy, or would it make future abuses less likely?

Reason · Jun 11, 2025