Washington, August 8, 2026: A US federal appeals court has ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt above-ground construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, handing him a major setback in a legal battle over the limits of presidential authority.
The Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that a President cannot fundamentally reshape the White House without approval from Congress. “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House,” the court said, Reuters reports.
Congress Must Have Its Say
The ruling upheld a preliminary injunction secured by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued after the administration demolished the White House’s East Wing and began building a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-metre) ballroom without seeking authorisation from Congress.
“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’s majority wrote.
The appeals court put its ruling on hold for 14 days, giving the Trump administration time to approach the US Supreme Court.
The legal battle has turned what the administration presents as a security and functional upgrade into a larger constitutional dispute over how much authority a President has to make major changes to one of the country’s most prominent government buildings without congressional approval.
Trump Calls Ruling ‘Horrendous’
Trump said on Truth Social on Friday that his administration would appeal to the Supreme Court. He described the planned structure as a “military center” and argued that it was necessary for security.
Trump called the appeals court decision “horrendous” and politically motivated, saying it left him, White House officials, and visitors exposed to possible attacks.
“This unjust decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court in its entirety,” Trump wrote.
He said the ballroom project includes bomb shelters, medical facilities, protection from drones and missiles, and other security features that are “all tied together as one big, expensive, and very complex unit”.
Trump has increasingly argued that the project is a security necessity. His administration has also said the ballroom is needed to accommodate large formal functions while preserving safety at the White House.
Historic Preservation Group Welcomes Verdict
National Trust President Brent Leggs welcomed the decision, calling it “a great day for our country and for the American people’s right to voice their opinions about the historic places they cherish, including the White House”.
Trump had appealed after US District Judge Richard Leon twice blocked above-ground construction at the site while allowing underground work to continue. Leon was appointed by former Republican President George W Bush.
The ballroom is the grandest of several efforts by Trump to reshape the landscape of government buildings and national monuments in central Washington.
In a separate lawsuit, a judge recently ruled that Trump’s name had been illegally added to the exterior of the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and ordered its removal.
National Security At Centre Of Fight
During arguments before the appeals court on June 5, Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth said courts had no role in weighing the privately funded ballroom project.
Roth argued that the National Trust’s “architectural preference” should not take precedence over national security concerns. He claimed there was evidence that the former East Wing had left the President and others inside the White House vulnerable to attack.
Circuit Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia, the Democratic-appointed judges who formed the appeals court majority, stressed that their ruling does not permanently prevent construction of a ballroom.
Instead, the order stops above-ground work while the lawsuit continues and until the White House obtains approval from Congress.
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For now, the ruling leaves Trump’s ambitious project caught between his assertion of presidential authority and the court’s view that Congress must have a role in deciding major changes to the White House. With the administration preparing to approach the Supreme Court, the dispute is now poised to become an even bigger test of the boundaries of presidential power.
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