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Trump Can't Construct White House Ballroom, Appeals Court Says
Source: Bloomberg Government News
US Law Week
Trump Can't Construct White House Ballroom, Appeals Court Says
Aug. 7, 2026, 10:32 AM EDT
Suzanne Monyak
President Donald Trump doesn't have legal authority to build a sprawling new White House ballroom without congressional approval, a federal appeals court held. ... A split three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit held Friday that the president doesn't have authority to build the ballroom, on the site of the demolished East Wing, without congressional approval.
"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," the opinion 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."
The appeals court paused the effect of its decision for 14 days to give the government the chance to ask the Supreme Court to review it. ... Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented. ... The decision is a blow for Trump, who posts frequently on social media about the importance of the new ballroom and has faced a number of legal challenges to his efforts to reshape Washington's historic monuments and sites. ... The Trump administration has also changed the color of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool basin, floated plans to build a 250-foot arch on Memorial Circle, and attempted to add Trump's name to The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, among other changes.
The appeals court upheld a ruling by Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, who found in March that Trump overstepped when he oversaw the demolition of the White House's historic East Wing to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, also rejected the Trump administration's arguments that a new ballroom is essential for national security. ... Ballroom construction has nonetheless been allowed to continue while the government's appeal of that ruling progressed, after the appeals court temporarily lifted Leon's ruling.
The case is National Trust for Historic Preservation v. NPS, D.C. Cir., No. 26-05123.
Read more: https://news.bgov.com/us-law-week/trump-cant-construct-white-house-ballroom-appeals-court-says
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