Judge Leon Reaffirms Block on White House Ballroom Above-Ground Work, Clarifies Limited Security Exception
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Judge Richard Leon has reaffirmed a block on above-ground construction of the White House ballroom, while allowing limited below-ground security work to continue.
Leon clarified, after a D.C. Circuit panel asked for more detail, that his injunction continues to bar above-grade ballroom work while permitting below-ground excavations, a bunker and other narrowly defined national-security facilities.
He rejected the administration's argument that the entire project falls under a security exception, writing "That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!" and he stayed enforcement one week to allow appeals to the D.C. Circuit or possibly the Supreme Court.