In a divided 2-1 decision, the Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld an injunction secured by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year after the administration demolished the East Wing and began constructing a 90,000-square-foot (8,360-square-metre) ballroom without seeking congressional approval.
“Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” the panel’s majority wrote. “Congress has not ceded unfettered authority to the Executive Branch to dramatically redesign, reshape, and reconstruct the White House — the People’s House — to fit a particular President’s desires.”
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The appeals court stayed its ruling for 14 days, allowing the Trump administration time to appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The administration appealed after US District Judge Richard Leon twice blocked above-ground construction while allowing underground work to continue.
Leon, who was appointed by former President George W Bush, ruled that no federal statute “comes close to giving the President” the authority to build the ballroom without congressional approval.
Administration cites security concerns
The ballroom proposal is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to alter several government buildings and national monuments in Washington.In a separate lawsuit, a judge recently ruled that Trump’s name had been added illegally to the exterior of the Kennedy Center and ordered its removal.
During arguments before the appeals court on 5 June, Justice Department attorney Yaakov Roth argued that the courts should not intervene in the privately funded ballroom project and that construction should not have been halted.
Roth said the National Trust’s “architectural preference” against the ballroom should not outweigh national security concerns, arguing that the former East Wing left the president and others in the White House vulnerable to attack.
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“They just don’t want to go to Congress,” countered Thaddeus Heuer, a lawyer representing the preservation group.
Trump has defended the ballroom project and its rising cost, which has doubled from the original estimate. In a Truth Social post last month, he said the increase was because “it is approximately twice the size, and a far higher quality, than the original proposal” and added that “it will be magnificent, safe, and secure!”