Donald Trump suffers humiliating set-back on bid to build huge £300m ballroom at White House

Donald Trump suffers humiliating set-back on bid to build huge £300m ballroom at White House The US President is so desperate to build a flashy ballroom on the side of the White House but his plans could be in tatters - despite having builders on site for almost six months Angry Donald Trump lashed out after he was ordered to halt construction on his £300million ballroom at the White House. The US President's plans for the 90,000-square-foot addition has been dealt another setback after a federal appeals court demanded Trump's administration stop building. The Republican has been embroiled in a court battle over his extension for months. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Congress mandated but privately funded group, filed a lawsuit and was granted an injunction that halted construction because he needed congressional approval to build it. In March, an appeals panel ruled that construction could continue while the lawsuit proceeds. But he has now been told to get builders off site, and in a post on his Truth Social platform, he hit out at the decision. He described the ballroom as "desperately needed" and said the court had "refused to acknowledge" the ballroom "is a gift from President Trump and Great Patriots of the United States of America". Mr Trump went on to say: "There will be no expense to the American taxpayer. This unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety." He had previously said the construction of the ballroom would be funded purely by $400m-worth of private donations after Democrats had criticised the project for being "expensive" and "frivolous". Trump wants to build the ballroom where the White House's East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition. The court said its ruling would remain for two weeks to give the administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court. "Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help," the court wrote. "This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy. This ruling does not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom. "What it does mean," the court continued, "is that the Defendants may not do so during the district court's expeditious litigation without securing Congress's authorisation, as the Constitution and laws require." Mr Trump is so desperate to build a ballroom on the side of the White House that he didn't even shut down construction for the arrival of the King back in April. King Charles and Queen Camilla were given a huge ceremonial reception on the grounds, complete with brass bands and a military inspection. But behind the pomp and ceremony, huge cranes were seen in motion throughout the arrival. Today's ruling marked the second time this week the Trump administration has made headlines for construction plans that have been called into question. An assessment by the National Park Service found that a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch that Trump has proposed building could compromise the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location on a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. Trump has said he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from corporations and wealthy people, including himself, to cover the construction costs. But the Trump administration requested $1 billion for the ballroom, which Congress refused in May. In June, Democrats warned that $350 million in funds from a tax cuts law appeared to have been redirected for the ballroom.