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WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge blocked Donald Trump on Tuesday from proceeding with construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished East Wing, halting ​for now one of the Republican president's most visible efforts to reshape ‌the seat of American power.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit organization that brought a lawsuit alleging Trump exceeded his authority ​when he razed the historic East Wing and launched construction without approval from ​Congress.

The decision by Leon, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, keeps ⁠the 90,000-square-foot ballroom project on hold while the lawsuit continues.
Trump has championed the ballroom ​as a defining addition to the White House and a lasting symbol of his presidency. Leon's ​ruling marks a sharp setback for the Justice Department, which opposed the injunction and has defended the ballroom as an allowable alteration that modernizes the White House grounds.

The National Trust sued Trump and several federal agencies in ​December after the administration demolished the East Wing - originally constructed in 1902 and expanded during ​Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency - to make way for what Trump has vowed will be the “finest” ballroom in the ‌country.

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Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Nia Williams