Trump declares White House ballroom project irreversible, saying it’s 'too late' to halt construction

US President Donald Trump has said that his proposed ballroom is effectively finalized, even as Justice Department attorneys have told a federal court that the plans remain adjustable and subject to review.

In a long post on his Truth Social account, Trump argued that the project cannot realistically be undone because essential materials have already been secured.

"There is no practical or reasonable way to go back," he wrote Sunday, emphasizing his point by declaring: "IT IS TOO LATE!"

Those statements differ from the administration's position in court.

Three days earlier, Justice Department lawyers told a judge that the ballroom design could still be altered and that the White House plans to wait for evaluations by two federal advisory panels before starting any aboveground construction in April.

US District Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, said he expects to issue a ruling in the coming weeks on whether the project can move forward.

The White House did not immediately answer questions about how Trump's public comments square with the legal arguments presented by his administration.

Trump and his aides have said the ballroom is a personal priority for him, and in his post on Sunday, the president also framed the project as a matter of national security.

"Stoppage of construction, at this late date, when so much has already been ordered and done, would be devastating to the White House, our Country, and all concerned," he further said.

He also detailed a list of materials that he said have already been purchased or are poised for acquisition, writing: "All of the Structural Steel, Windows, Doors, A.C./Heating Equipment, Marble, Stone, Precast Concrete, Bulletproof Windows and Glass, Anti-Drone Roofing, and much more."

The approximately 450-word message appeared between two posts about Minnesota, where another fatal shooting linked to immigration enforcement the day before had inflamed domestic political tensions and revived talk of a possible government shutdown.

Democrats said they would oppose a funding package that must pass by Friday to keep much of the federal government operating, arguing that they could not back continued financing for immigration enforcement without changes to how it is carried out.

In October, Trump swiftly ordered the demolition of the White House's East Wing annex to clear space for the proposed ballroom, drawing criticism from Democrats, government watchdogs and some conservatives.

They argued that the administration should have solicited public input before making major alterations to a building often referred to as the "People's House."

The White House has since begun work on the project's underground components, bringing in crews, heavy equipment and a tower crane. Administration officials have said the construction is needed to ensure the president's safety.

In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit established by Congress to help safeguard historic properties, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.

The group said the project moved forward without legally required reviews or congressional approval.

It has asked Judge Leon to halt construction until those reviews are completed, contending that continued work makes the project increasingly irreversible.

"We are fully committed to upholding the interests of the American public and advocating for compliance with all legally required review and approval processes and an opportunity for the American people to weigh in on a project that impacts one of the most historically significant buildings in our country," the National Trust said in a statement Sunday after Trump's post, which also criticized the organization.

The Justice Department has maintained that Trump holds broad authority to alter the White House grounds.

It also presented testimony from an engineer involved in the ballroom project, who said the design could still undergo substantial changes. The National Trust countered with sworn testimony from architect William Bates, a former president of the American Institute of Architects, who said that underground construction largely determines what can later be built above it.

"Altering these conditions after the fact would require major demolition and redesign," Bates wrote last month.

Leon, who is presiding over the case in US District Court in Washington, appeared doubtful of the administration's claims during a hearing on Thursday.

He pressed Justice Department lawyers to justify how Trump could legally finance the project with hundreds of millions of dollars in private donations.

Several publicly named donors, including Amazon, Google and Lockheed Martin, hold contracts worth billions with the federal government.

The two federal advisory bodies tasked with reviewing the ballroom, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, are now chaired by Trump appointees, after he removed members selected during the Biden administration.

White House officials have said they aim to secure approval from both panels by March, and the panels' leadership has expressed support for the project.

"I know the president wants to get on with this, and we need to let him do his job," Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts, said at a hearing last week.