A few days ago, Federal Judge Richard Leon ordered construction to stop on Trump’s gaudy ballroom, requiring that it must get Congressional approval.

But yesterday the mammoth ballroom was approved by the National Capitol Planning Commission, even though it received thousands of letters from the public opposing the project.

Trump stacked the Commission with lackies, some with no relevant experience.

After Judge Leon’s decision, Trump made clear that he would not be deterred. The ballroom, he insisted, was a matter of national security.

“Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop!” the judge wrote in his ruling, which was punctuated by 19 exclamation points.

The Justice Department has filed a notice of appeal, and Mr. Trump has shown a reluctance to bring the project to Congress, where it would face an uncertain fate.

Instead, he has pointed to a portion of the judge’s ruling that allowed “construction necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House” to continue.

The president has begun arguing that the project is a matter of national security.

“We have bio defense all over,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office this week. “We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we’re building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we’re building. We have all of these things. So that’s called, I’m allowed to continue building.”

So the ballroom is actually part of the national defense system, and no court judgment will stop it.