A federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, ruling that the president lacks unilateral authority to build the 90,000-square-foot structure without congressional approval.
In a 2-1 decision issued Friday, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided with historic preservationists who sued to stop the project. The court placed its ruling on hold for 14 days to allow the administration to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The disputed ballroom is planned for the site where the White House’s East Wing once stood before it was demolished on the president’s order. Construction has continued on a helipad and other work on the South Lawn.
“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 in its opinion, emphasizing that the ruling did not address the desirability of the project itself.
The panel clarified that its holding does not necessarily prevent the ballroom from ever being built, but rather that the administration cannot proceed during ongoing litigation without securing authorization from Congress, as required by the Constitution and federal law.
The decision upheld an April 16 order from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, directing the administration to halt above-ground work. Leon had allowed below-ground construction on a bunker and other facilities described as serving national security purposes to continue.
President Donald Trump criticized the earlier ruling on social media following Leon’s order. The legal fight is one of several recent court challenges facing the administration over the scope of executive authority, coming amid a broader wave of litigation including an ongoing dispute over mail-in voting ahead of the midterms.
The two-week stay sets up a likely emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, which will determine whether construction can resume in the near term. Should the administration fail to obtain relief, the project’s future would hinge on securing congressional funding and authorization.