A divided federal appeals court ruled Saturday that President Donald Trump’s administration must stop construction of the US$400 million (NZ$678 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 8400-square-metre ballroom where the White House’s East Wing stood before he ordered its demolition last autumn, according to the decision by a three-judge panel from the US 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 US Supreme Court.
Saturday'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 76-metre-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 authorisation, 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 above-ground 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 US$1 billion (NZ$1.6 billion) for the ballroom, which Congress refused in May. In June, Democrats warned that US$350 million (NZ$593 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 organisation that brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration, said the decision affirmed "the American people's right to voice their opinions about the historic places they cherish", including the White House.
"From the beginning, our position has been clear and consistent: the law states that only Congress can authorise 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 US District Judge Richard Leon for the Trump administration to halt above-ground work on the ballroom. Leon, who was nominated to the bench by 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 President Barack Obama. Garcia was nominated by 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 bio-hazards.
"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 above-ground 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 above-ground 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.
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