A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration must stop construction of a $400 million White House ballroom because Congress has not approved the project. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a modified preliminary injunction blocking above-ground work on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) structure.
Appeals Court Halts White House Ballroom Construction
Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia, appointed by Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden respectively, formed the majority. The third panel member, Judge Neomi Rao, dissented. The court placed its ruling on a 14-day stay to give the Trump administration time to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
President Trump blasted the ruling on his social media platform, Al Jazeera, calling it an unjust decision
and vowing to immediately appeal to the nation’s highest court. Trump argued the ruling was politically motivated and left officials, the military, and visitors exposed to attack, maintaining that the project is required for the national security of Washington, D.C., and includes bomb shelters, medical facilities, and drone shielding.
The Legal Battle and Congressional Authority
The appeals court majority rejected national security arguments as an automatic exemption from the law, writing that whether a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide rather than a matter for executive self-help.
The Defendants have not shown that Congress delegated that authority to either the President or the National Park Service,
the judges wrote, adding that the Constitution assigns authority over that property to Congress.
The litigation stems from a lawsuit filed in December by the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation. The group challenged the administration’s actions after construction crews, without advance notice, demolished the historic East Wing last October.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, previously issued an initial injunction siding with the historic preservationists. While the injunction halted above-ground ballroom work, it left room for below-ground construction of national security facilities, a distinction the appeals court affirmed.
Reactions and Funding Controversy
Brent Leggs, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, praised the ruling, stating that it affirms the American people’s right to voice opinions about cherished historic places and proves that the White House belongs to the public.
The project has faced legislative friction alongside the courtroom battles. Trump has stated that he raised hundreds of millions of dollars from corporations and wealthy individuals, alongside his own funds, to cover construction costs. However, the Trump administration had requested $1 billion for the ballroom from Congress, which was refused in May. In June, Democrats warned that $350 million in funds from a tax cuts law appeared to have been redirected to the White House for security and the ballroom.
During oral arguments on June 5, Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth argued that the courts have no role in weighing the privately funded project and that architectural preferences should not override national security concerns. Conversely, the appeals court majority emphasized that the administration must secure congressional authorization before proceeding with above-ground construction during the ongoing litigation.
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