Federal Appeals Court Bars Construction of Trump White House Ballroom Pending Congressional Approval

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling Friday that the Trump administration must stop above-ground construction of a $400 million ballroom on the White House East Wing site because Congress has not approved the project. The court said the decision does not address the desirability of the ballroom, but emphasizes that only Congress can authorize such a structure under the Constitution and existing laws. The ruling will be stayed for two weeks to allow the administration to seek review by the Supreme Court.

President Donald Trump responded on social media, calling the decision “unjust” and pledging an immediate appeal to the nation’s highest court. He cited a dissenting opinion by Judge Neomi Rao and described the planned facility as including bomb shelters, a hospital and “Top Secret Military Facilities,” framing the court’s order as a national-security threat.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which argued that only Congress can approve the ballroom. Its president, Brent Leggs, said the decision upholds the public’s right to weigh changes to historic sites. The administration had requested $1 billion for the project, a request Congress rejected in May, and earlier this year a district judge barred above-ground work while allowing underground security construction to continue.

The appeals panel, composed of Judges Rao, Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia, split along the lines of their appointing presidents, with Millett and Garcia supporting the injunction and Rao dissenting. The case follows a separate assessment by the National Park Service that a proposed triumphal arch near the Lincoln Memorial could jeopardize historic sites.