Appeals Court Halts Construction of White House Ballroom Pending Supreme Court Review

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., issued a split 2-1 decision ordering the Trump administration to cease construction of a $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing. The ruling upheld a preliminary injunction filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that Congress had not authorized the project.

The majority opinion said that decisions about such a large addition to the White House are a congressional matter, not an exercise of executive self-help, and that the President lacks unfettered authority to redesign the residence.

The court placed its order on hold for 14 days, allowing the administration to petition the U.S. Supreme Court. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The injunction follows earlier district court orders that blocked above-ground construction while permitting underground work to continue. Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth argued that the courts should not intervene in a privately funded project and cited national-security concerns, while preservation lawyer Thaddeus Heuer countered that the administration was avoiding congressional approval.