A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of its $400 million ballroom at the White House without congressional approval.
U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t have the unilateral authority to construct a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom where the White House’s East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition, according to the decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with historic preservationists who sued to stop construction. The court said it would stay its own ruling for two weeks to allow the administration to appeal to the U.S. 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 authorization, as the Constitution and laws require.”
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The panel upheld an April 16 order from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon for the administration to halt above-ground work on the ballroom. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, allowed for construction to continue on below-ground work on a bunker and other “national security facilities” at the site.
Trump, a Republican, railed against Leon’s decision on social media, calling him a “Trump Hating” judge who “has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn’t get built.”
The appeals court case was assigned to Judges Patricia Millett, Neomi Rao and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated to the court by Democratic President Barack Obama. Trump nominated Rao. Garcia was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden. Both Millett and Garcia backed the decision, while Rao opposed it.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to challenge the project in December 2025, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people.
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Government lawyers have argued that the project — the biggest structural change to the White House in more than 70 years — includes critical security features to guard against a range of threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.
“These upgrades, alterations, and improvements are essential to protecting the President, his family, and his staff, as well as the White House itself, and the entire project flows from them,” government attorneys wrote in a court filing.
Attorneys for the preservation group countered that the lack of a White House ballroom doesn’t constitute a national security emergency.
“That commonsense conclusion is not clearly erroneous, and there is no basis to disturb it,” they wrote.
In an initial ruling that the government also appealed, Leon barred above-ground work on the ballroom from proceeding without congressional approval. In response, the appeals court instructed the judge to reconsider the national security implications of stopping construction.
In his most recent decision, Leon ordered a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom. The judge stressed that the White House is free to proceed with below-ground work, including the construction of any bunkers, military installations and medical facilities.
“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated,” the judge wrote. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”
On April 2, Trump’s ballroom won final approval from the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region.
And of course we have an Elbozo injecting their Poilievre Derangment Syndrome into the comments.
Trump doesn’t give a f*ck about the descions made by TDS sufferers. He will find a way around their attempts and do what he wants.
With million homeless growing rapidly in your country… really?? Freaking senile
Everyone knows that the east wing had to be demolished in order to upgrade the emergency operations center (PEOC) that is below, that was built in the 1940’s and resembled a WW2 submarine inside.
The ballroom is just the cover for a top secret construction project that has been compromised by TDS.
Anonymous
August 8, 2026 at 9:17 am
@Golfer1. Agree this was a huge waste of taxpayer money to feed Trump’s ego!
Hilarious that you can’t do any research and know that the tax payers aren’t flipping the bill but remember Orange man bad or is it Canada Makes America Great Again? Elbows up?
I am sure the Judge is a stupid, petty, Democrat loser.
Why is that cocsucker not dead yet
@Golfer1. Agree this was a huge waste of taxpayer money to feed Trump’s ego!
The far right needs to realize that the judiciary acts as a check on any administration. If there were no checks, the USA would be even more of a dictatorship than it is now.
They really need to start getting rid of bad judges.
Golfer1
August 7, 2026 at 10:53 pm
Good! What a waste of money just to feed a giant ego!
Who’s paying for it? Certainly not the tax payers or did you not figure that part out yet.
Why was he allowed to tear the east wing of the white house down to begin with, now your left with an ugly construction site
Court decisions!
What a field day to left wing nut cases!
Good! What a waste of money just to feed a giant ego!
Donkey-brain Dumpf
This “ball room” is the half the size of the flight deck of the USS Gerald Ford! That should nicely accommodate the 1000 US billionaires and their entourages!
Are you sure Global.
Where will Poilievre dance now without his mentor Trump?