Donald Trump’s dream of building a presidential library in Florida has hit a major roadblock. A state judge has temporarily blocked plans to transfer a prized piece of downtown Miami real estate to the Trump Foundation, halting what was expected to be the first step toward constructing a flashy monument to his presidency.
Judge Mavel Ruiz of Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit issued the order this week, putting a freeze on the land transfer from Miami Dade College to the state. The decision came after local historian Marvin Dunn filed a lawsuit claiming the public wasn’t properly notified about the plan to hand over 2.6 acres of public land for Trump’s library.
The property in question isn’t just any patch of grass; it sits on Biscayne Boulevard in the heart of Miami, worth an estimated $67 million. According to Dunn’s lawsuit, the college’s Board of Trustees approved the land transfer in a little-publicized meeting held early in the morning without live-streaming or adequate public notice. Dunn argued that the move violated Florida’s Sunshine Laws, which guarantee public access to government meetings and decisions.
The court agreed that there was enough cause to pause the deal. In her ruling, Judge Ruiz didn’t weigh in on the politics of the proposal but said the process lacked transparency and warranted closer scrutiny.
The library plan had moved at lightning speed before the injunction. Within days of the college’s quiet vote, Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet signed off on transferring the property to Trump’s presidential library foundation. That group includes several of Trump’s closest allies and family members, including Eric Trump and businessman Michael Boulos.
Trump’s team has pitched the project as a historic first for Florida — a presidential library that would attract tourists, host conferences, and serve as a “world-class civic landmark.” Supporters say the state’s involvement is justified because the library would boost the local economy and give Miami a new cultural destination.
But critics see it differently. Dunn and other activists argue that the project amounts to gifting public land for a personal vanity project tied to one of the most polarizing political figures in modern history. “No one is saying Trump can’t build a library,” Dunn said in interviews this week. “But he shouldn’t be doing it with public land that belongs to the people of Miami.”
The fight highlights a broader debate in South Florida, who gets to control the city’s remaining valuable land and how much public input should be required before it’s handed over to private interests. If the judge’s ruling stands, the college and the state may have to start the process over, this time with full public notice and hearings that could give Miami residents a real say.
For Trump, the delay is both a legal and symbolic setback. The library was meant to anchor his post-presidential legacy, a physical monument to his political movement in a state he now calls home. Instead, it’s become another courtroom battle, this time not over ballots or indictments, but over land, transparency, and who gets to write history in stone.
