Appeals Court Orders Trump to Halt the White House Ballroom — Congress, Not the President, Decides

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled on Aug. 7, 2026 that above-ground construction of the White House ballroom cannot continue without approval from Congress. The 2-1 decision, running 136 pages, upheld a district court preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued in December after the administration demolished the East Wing to make way for a roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom. The court wrote that whether a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.

The ruling tests how far a president may unilaterally alter the White House complex, and whether privately raised funds can substitute for congressional authorization of a permanent federal structure. The administration has argued the project is a national security matter and that the plaintiffs lack standing.

The panel stayed its mandate for 14 days to allow an appeal. Trump called the decision horrendous, politically motivated and unlawful in a Truth Social post and said his administration would appeal immediately to the Supreme Court.