An appeals court in the United States has upheld an injunction that pauses the construction of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, ruling that congressional approval is required.
The United States Appeals Court for the District of Columbia voted 2-1 on Friday to uphold the injunction, with judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia forming the majority. Judge Neomi Rao dissented.
The court’s lengthy opinion stated that Congress controls the White House and its grounds, and that the president is merely a temporary resident.
"The President has no — and claims no — constitutionally assigned authority over that property, which is designed and maintained for the use of all Presidents, current and future, and for the American people," Garcia and Millett wrote.
They noted that the East Wing of the White House was demolished in October to make way for the ballroom.
"We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President, unilaterally and using privately collected funds, demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now," they wrote.
The judges stated that allowing the ballroom construction to proceed would cause "permanent and irreversible harm" to the "historic, architectural, and aesthetic interests" of the plaintiffs.
Millett and Garcia upheld a lower court’s decision to pause construction while litigation continues, stating, "The Defendants have not shown that Congress delegated that authority to either the President or the National Park Service."
"Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help."
The injunction includes a 14-day stay to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump responded on his social media platform Truth Social, stating that he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
"We will be immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court," Trump wrote. "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 has argued that the ballroom is necessary for national security, providing a secure space for presidential events. Critics, however, have called it an unnecessary vanity project built without proper legal procedures.
The idea for the ballroom dates back to 2011, when Trump, then a real estate magnate, expressed his desire to build an opulent White House ballroom for state dinners. He renewed this proposal during his 2016 presidential campaign.
After beginning his second term in 2025, Trump intensified his efforts to build the ballroom and other projects.
In July 2025, Trump stated that the ballroom's construction would not be destructive and would respect the existing building.
However, in October, the East Wing, built in 1902, was demolished without prior notice.
The nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation expressed outrage over the demolition.
Plans revealed the ballroom would be approximately 90,000 square feet (8,361 square metres), significantly larger than the main White House structure.
In December, the National Trust filed a lawsuit, arguing that Trump exceeded his authority by demolishing the East Wing and building the ballroom.
On March 31, US District Court Judge Richard Leon sided with the National Trust and issued an initial injunction to halt construction.
"Unless and until Congress blesses this project through statutory authorization, construction has to stop," Leon wrote.
He did, however, allow for construction necessary for national security, but clarified this exception did not apply to the ballroom project itself.
The National Trust praised the appeals court's decision to maintain the injunction.
"This is 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," said the trust’s president, Brent Leggs. "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."
Trump and his allies have maintained that the ballroom is a critical national security asset, with recent suggestions that it would include bomb shelters, an underground military hospital, secret military facilities, and drone-related protective materials.
Trump also quoted extensively from the appeals court's dissent, written by Judge Rao.
"The district court issued an extraordinary injunction halting all construction of the ballroom. This was a blatant abuse of discretion," Rao wrote, referring to Leon’s decision. She argued that the National Trust lacked standing and that the district court had prioritized "aesthetic displeasure" over "the government's security interests," framing the construction as an executive authority matter.
"Because the injunction is beyond the proper province of the federal courts, construction should be allowed to continue," Rao wrote.
However, her colleagues on the appeals court ruled differently. They noted that the injunction only pauses construction during the litigation and does not necessarily prevent the ballroom's ultimate construction.
"This ruling does not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom," Garcia and Millett said. "What it does mean 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."
