A federal judge just checkmated Trump's renovations of the East Wing..

"U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered that President Trump must obtain Congressional authorization for the construction of a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing. Judge Leon ruled that the $400 million project cannot proceed without Congressional approval.."

so what happened? Trump got sued by a historical soceity for wrecking the East Wing for his silly ballroom. the federal judge, appointed by dubya, agreed with the plaintiffs that Trump's renos require an Act of Congress.

why was this such a brutal ruling?

Congress has 2 options: give approval to the project but don't fund it; or, give approval and fund it..

now for the fun part. if Congress picks option A, they're going to have to get it through the filibuster in the Senate, which will never happen.

but if they go with Option B, then first, Dems can say: "This fool is building a 400 million dollar ballroom with your hard-earned money while you can't even afford to fill up your gas tank."

AND,

there's still the filibuster problem. Congress can't pass this under reconciliation, which only requires 51% in both Chambers, because reconciliation only covers required spending such as Social Security. this would fall under discretionary spending to which the filibuster still applies. so Trump loses on both options, which is pretty funny..

the only thing that might save him is his Court-packed Supreme Court. anything less and the silly ballroom needless idea falls, and Trump's insane ballroom idea goes straight down the toilet, along with all the evidence of scandals he always buries there, causing plumbing problem in the WH..

Trump tried to argue national security. the judge said, "Build your bunker if you want, but no dice on the ballroom.."

so Trump faces another huge loss..

#losing..
#theorangeclownclownsagain..

(sorry for another thread. this one was too fun to pass up.)

Some liberal judge would issue a restraining order if the President discovered a cure for cancer that also reversed aging.

^^he's a dubya appointee and a Republican..

Some liberal judge would issue a restraining order if the President discovered a cure for cancer that also reversed aging. Originally Posted by ICU 812

^^he's a dubya appointee and a Republican.. Originally Posted by pxmcc

Oops. Well..that's uncomfortable. Guess that GOP judge got all radicalized by the law.

Some liberal judge would issue a restraining order if the President discovered a cure for cancer that also reversed aging. Originally Posted by ICU 812

If it went against the scientific method, maybe.
But donnys actions definitely went against the rule of law.

And why is he trying to get the taxpayers to flip the build?
Did he already grift all the $$$$ the private donors coughed up?

for Trump's stupid ballroom, from 200 million of only private money to 1 billion, funded entirely by taxpayers..

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/repub...test-news-unit

after the shit Trump put Powell through on supposed "cost overruns" for renovations at the Fed Reserve building, Trump should get impeached for this bait-n-switch fuckery. what a con artist the Orange Clown is..

for Trump's stupid ballroom, from 200 million of only private money to 1 billion, funded entirely by taxpayers..

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/repub...test-news-unit

after the shit Trump put Powell through on supposed "cost overruns" for renovations at the Fed Reserve building, Trump should get impeached for this bait-n-switch fuckery. what a con artist the Orange Clown is.. Originally Posted by pxmcc

Agreed, bait-n-switch fuckery indeed.

So . . ..what will "they" allow to be built there?

Not sure I understand the objection(s). Is cost the problem? Or is it that it is a ballroom/event venue?

Actually a Federal Appeals court blocked that Dick Leon judge and said the construction can continue until they review it in June.


That Appeal court made the ruling on 4/17.


This thread was started on 4/28, 11 days after the Appeal court ruling already overruled the Dick Leon judge.


That is why FACT CHECKING is so important.


I would not had started this thread and SENSATIONALIZED IT BY calling it checkmate when I know the judge that supposedly checkmated was already overruled later.


https://www.politico.com/news/2026/0...-says-00879949

Actually a Federal Appeals court blocked that Dick Leon judge and said the construction can continue until they review it in June.


That Appeals-appellate is the correct term if you are using Appeals as an adjective- court made the ruling on 4/17.


This thread was started on 4/28, 11 days after the Appeal court ruling already overruled the Dick Leon judge.


That is why FACT CHECKING is so important.


I would not had started this thread and SENSATIONALIZED IT BY calling it checkmate when I know the judge that supposedly checkmated was already overruled later.


https://www.politico.com/news/2026/0...-says-00879949 Originally Posted by CG2014

You're trying to fact check me? Excuse me for one second while I..
bahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahaha..

Sorry, my bad..

Nice try, trying to school a lawyer on a legal issue, but better luck next time. Maybe try sticking to topics in your wheelhouse like how awesome Trump's "unsinkable"-where have I heard that term before-17 billion dollar battleships will be..

The Appeals Court ruling did not “overrule” Judge Leon on the merits of the case. What happened was a temporary administrative stay allowing construction activity to continue while the appellate court reviews the underlying legal issues. That is a very different thing from a final ruling that Judge Leon was wrong. Saying it was “already overruled” is also inaccurate. Appeals courts frequently pause lower-court injunctions temporarily to preserve the status quo during expedited review. That does not resolve whether the project ultimately violates environmental law, appropriations law, permitting requirements, and/or administrative procedures.

The timeline also matters less than you suggest. A thread discussing Judge Leon’s ruling is still valid even if a later procedural stay occurred. Courts issue evolving rulings all the time. Reporting on a major district court decision is not “fake” simply because an appellate panel later grants interim relief pending review.

Your own Politico link appears to describe a temporary procedural posture, not a definitive appellate judgment declaring the project lawful. In legal terms, there is a major distinction between:

A stay pending appeal,
A reversal on the merits, and
A final appellate opinion after full briefing and argument.

Those are not interchangeable.

So the more accurate framing is:

Judge Leon issued a significant ruling against the project.
The appellate court later allowed construction to continue temporarily pending review.
The underlying legal dispute is still being litigated.

That is a far cry from “the judge was already overruled” in the broad sense you are implying.

Trump originally promoted the ballroom as privately funded and roughly $200 million; the estimate is now at least $400 million, and Senate Republicans are proposing $1 billion in taxpayer-funded Secret Service/security upgrades that could support the East Wing/ballroom project, though the text reportedly does not specify how much would go directly to the ballroom.

The legal issues break down like this:

Congressional authorization:
The biggest issue is whether a president can demolish part of the White House complex and build a major new structure without express congressional approval. Judge Richard Leon ruled on March 31, 2026, that construction must stop unless Congress authorizes it, writing that the president is steward, not owner, of the White House.

Historic preservation and public-review laws:
The White House is treated as a nationally significant historic site. Preservationists argue the administration bypassed legally required review by the National Capital Planning Commission, Commission of Fine Arts, NEPA review, and public-comment procedures before demolition/construction. The National Trust filed suit in December 2025 to halt the project until those processes were followed.

NCPC/CFA approval controversy:
NCPC’s own project page lists the East Wing Modernization Project as requiring review and NEPA, with final vote materials dated April 2, 2026. That matters because critics say review came after major demolition had already occurred, making the process partly backward-looking.

Public/private funding contradiction:
Trump’s defense has been: donors pay for the ballroom, taxpayers pay only security. But the proposed $1 billion is public money for “security upgrades” tied to the same project. That creates the political/legal question whether “security” is being used to publicly subsidize a project previously sold as privately funded. Reuters says the package does not say how much of the Secret Service money would pay for the ballroom.

Appropriations/reconciliation issue:
Republicans are trying to move the money through reconciliation, which avoids the Senate’s normal 60-vote threshold. That raises a process issue: whether a White House construction/security project belongs inside a broader immigration/DHS/border-security reconciliation package.

“Security” carveout litigation:
Even when Judge Leon blocked above-ground construction, he allowed work needed for White House safety/security. The D.C. Circuit later stayed the lower-court order and allowed construction to continue pending a June 5 hearing. AP reports the project involves above-ground ballroom work and below-ground “national security facilities.”

Donor ethics/conflict of interest concerns:
Private funding by wealthy individuals and corporations raises separate ethics questions: whether donors with business before the administration are buying influence, and whether undisclosed donor amounts create transparency problems. That is not the same as a proven bribery violation, but it is a serious governance issue.

Bottom line: the dispute is not only “Trump wants a ballroom.” It is a layered fight over presidential authority, destruction/alteration of historic federal property, whether required public-review processes were bypassed, whether Congress is now being asked to cure the defect, and whether a supposedly private $200–$400 million project is being indirectly converted into a taxpayer-funded project through a $1 billion security appropriation.

And I said, correctly, that Trump will ultimately need to be saved by his Trump-packed, Mitch McConnell-fuckeryed Supreme Court..

Anything else you'd like to add-or more to the point-subtract..

The following is not permitted on the site:

Insulting Others
Targeting other members for attacks
Harassing other members, groups of members, class of members, etc
Disrespecting other members on the site
General rudeness toward other members on the site

Bottom line is that Trump has repeatedly promised (lol) that his ballroom would not be built with government funds.

He lied again and is once again picking YOUR pocket.

This criminal needs to be out of the White House and sent to the big house.

So much WINNING, eh MAGAS?