Appeals Court Rules Trump Can't Build White House Ballroom Without Congressional Approval

WASHINGTON — A national appeals tribunal connected Friday ordered nan Trump management to halt building of its $400-million ballroom astatine nan White House without legislature approval.

President Trump doesn’t person nan unilateral authority to conception a 90,000-square-foot ballroom wherever nan White House’s East Wing stood earlier he ordered its demolition, according to nan determination by a three-judge sheet from nan U.S. Court of Appeals for nan District of Columbia Circuit.

In a 2-1 decision, nan tribunal sided pinch historical preservationists who sued to extremity construction. The tribunal said it would enactment its ain ruling for 2 weeks to let nan management to entreaty to nan U.S. Supreme Court.

“Whether aliases not a monolithic ballroom should beryllium constructed is for Congress to determine and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” nan tribunal wrote.

“This holding has thing astatine each to do pinch whether nan projected ballroom is desirable, aliases not, arsenic a matter of policy. This ruling does not moreover needfully mean that nan Defendants whitethorn not yet conception nan ballroom.

“What it does mean,” nan tribunal continued, “is that nan Defendants whitethorn not do truthful during nan territory court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization, arsenic nan Constitution and laws require.”

The sheet upheld an April 16 bid from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon for nan management to halt above-ground activity connected nan ballroom. Leon, who was nominated to nan chair by Republican President George W. Bush, allowed for building to proceed connected below-ground activity connected a bunker and different “national information facilities” astatine nan site.

Trump, a Republican, railed against Leon’s determination connected societal media, calling him a “Trump Hating” judge who “has gone retired of his measurement to undermine National Security, and to make judge that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, aliases doesn’t get built.”

The appeals tribunal lawsuit was assigned to Judges Patricia Millett, Neomi Rao and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated to nan tribunal by Democratic President Obama. Trump nominated Rao. Garcia was nominated by Democratic President Biden. Both Millett and Garcia backed nan decision, while Rao opposed it.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to situation nan task successful December 2025, a week aft nan White House vanished demolishing nan East Wing to make measurement for a ballroom that Trump said would fresh 999 people.

Government lawyers person based on that nan task — nan biggest structural alteration to nan White House successful much than 70 years — includes captious information features to defender against a scope of threats, specified arsenic drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.

“These upgrades, alterations, and improvements are basal to protecting nan President, his family, and his staff, arsenic good arsenic nan White House itself, and nan full task flows from them,” authorities attorneys wrote successful a tribunal filing.

Attorneys for nan preservation group countered that nan deficiency of a White House ballroom doesn’t represent a nationalist information emergency.

“That commonsense conclusion is not intelligibly erroneous, and location is nary ground to disturb it,” they wrote.

In an first ruling that nan authorities besides appealed, Leon barred above-ground activity connected nan ballroom from proceeding without legislature approval. In response, nan appeals tribunal instructed nan judge to reconsider nan nationalist information implications of stopping construction.

In his astir caller decision, Leon ordered a extremity only to nan above-ground building of nan planned ballroom. The judge stressed that nan White House is free to proceed pinch below-ground work, including nan building of immoderate bunkers, subject installations and aesculapian facilities.

“Defendants reason that nan full ballroom building project, from extremity to tail, falls wrong nan safety-and-security objection and truthful whitethorn proceed unabated,” nan judge wrote. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reference of my Order!”

On April 2, Trump’s ballroom won last support from nan 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, which is tasked pinch approving building connected national spot successful nan Washington region.

Kunzelman and Barrow constitute for nan Associated Press. Barrow reported from Atlanta.