Appeals court rules Trump can't build White House ballroom without
congressional approval
[August 08, 2026]
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that
President Donald Trump’s administration must stop construction of the
$400 million White House ballroom because Congress has not approved the
project, a decision he blasted as “unjust” while vowing to appeal it to
the nation's highest court.
Trump doesn’t have the unilateral authority to build a
90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom where the White House’s
East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition last fall, according to
the decision by a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit.
The Republican president said on social media that the administration
will immediately appeal what he called an “unjust decision” to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Friday's ruling marked the second time this week that the Trump
administration has made headlines for construction plans that have been
called into question. An assessment by the National Park Service found
that a 250-foot-tall (76-meter-tall) triumphal arch that Trump has
proposed building could compromise the historical significance of dozens
of sites near its planned location on a traffic circle between the
Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
In a 2-1 decision on the ballroom, the appeals court sided with historic
preservationists who sued to stop construction of the massive structure,
which has begun to rise above ground on the east side of the White
House, according to the most recent aerial photos of the site. The court
said it would stay its ruling for two weeks to give the administration
time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“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.
“This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed
ballroom is desirable, or not, as a matter of policy. This ruling does
not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately
construct the ballroom.
“What it does mean,” the court continued, “is that the Defendants may
not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without
securing Congress’s authorization, as the Constitution and laws
require.”
Trump insists Congress' approval is unnecessary
The president reacted to the ruling with a lengthy post on social media
in which he quoted from a dissenting opinion issued by Judge Neomi Rao,
whom he nominated. He also described the plans for the facility to
include bomb shelters, a hospital and medical facilities, “Top Secret
Military Facilities” and other security features.
“The Military and Secret Service are viewing this horrendous,
politically motivated, and unlawful ruling as a National Security threat
to our Nation in that the entire Complex is being built for the
protection of our Country and, additionally, all future Presidents,”
Trump wrote.
After the lower court earlier this year ordered a halt to aboveground
construction, the president argued that permission from Congress was
unnecessary because public money was not being used to pay for it.
Trump has said he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from
corporations and wealthy people, including himself, to cover the
construction costs.
But the Trump administration had requested $1 billion for the ballroom,
which Congress 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, including the ballroom.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the nonprofit organization
that brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration, said Friday's
decision affirmed “the American people's right to voice their opinions
about the historic places they cherish,” including the White House.
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White House Ballroom construction continues Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026,
at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Tierney L. Cross)
“From the beginning, our position has been clear and consistent: the
law states that only Congress can authorize the construction of a
ballroom at the White House,” Brent Leggs, the group's president and
CEO, said in a statement. "We are pleased with the DC Circuit
Court’s decision to uphold the District Court’s preliminary
injunction, which although stayed for 14 days will block any
above-ground ballroom construction unless and until Congress takes
action.”
The divided appeals court panel upheld an April 16 order from U.S.
District Judge Richard Leon for the Trump administration to halt
aboveground work on the ballroom. Leon, who was nominated to the
bench by Republican President George W. Bush, allowed construction
to continue on underground work on a bunker and other “national
security facilities” at the site.
The appeals court case was assigned to Judges Rao, Patricia Millett
and Bradley Garcia. Millett was nominated to the court by Democratic
President Barack Obama. Garcia was nominated by Democratic President
Joe Biden. Both Millett and Garcia backed the decision, while Rao
opposed it.
Preservationists challenge Trump in court
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued over the project
in December 2025, a week after completion of the East Wing
demolition to make way for a ballroom that Trump says would hold 999
people.
Government lawyers have argued that the project — the biggest
structural change to the White House in more than 70 years — must
move forward because it includes critical security features to guard
against a range of threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and
biohazards.
“These upgrades, alterations, and improvements are essential to
protecting the President, his family, and his staff, as well as the
White House itself, and the entire project flows from them,”
government attorneys wrote in a court filing.
Attorneys for the preservation group countered that the lack of a
White House ballroom doesn’t constitute a national security
emergency.
“That commonsense conclusion is not clearly erroneous, and there is
no basis to disturb it,” they wrote.
In an initial ruling that the government also appealed, Leon barred
aboveground work on the ballroom from proceeding without
congressional approval. In response, the appeals court instructed
the judge to reconsider the national security implications of
stopping construction.
In his most recent decision, Leon ordered a stop only to the
aboveground construction of the planned ballroom. The judge stressed
that the White House is free to proceed with underground work,
including the construction of any bunkers, military installations
and medical facilities.
On April 2, Trump’s ballroom won final approval from the 12-member
National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with
approving construction on federal property in the Washington region.
___
Associated Press writers Bill Barrow in Atlanta and Gary Fields and
Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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