A panel of federal judges ruled on Friday that President Donald Trump must stop construction on his White House ballroom project. The 2-1 decision came from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Trump said he would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. He also criticized the judges who ruled against him in a post on Truth Social Friday night.
The ballroom project involves an estimated $400 million and is being built on the site of the former East Wing, which was torn down last year.
Trump questioned the judges’ description of presidents as temporary residents
In his Truth Social post, Trump objected to a line from the ruling that said “each President is a temporary tenant of the White House.” He pushed back directly on that description.
“We are not tenants, who pay rent and do all other things that a tenant must do, we are PRESIDENTS, elected by the people of the United States of America, and have many rights, including the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds, which has been built and rebuilt, renovated and rerenovated, repaired and, simply, MADE BETTER, many times since 1792, and never needing the permission of Congress, or anyone else, to do so,” Trump wrote.
He also called the ruling “a National Disgrace” and said it amounted to “a National Security Threat at the highest level.” Trump pointed out that the two judges who ruled against him were appointed by Democratic presidents. He referred to them as “one appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, the other by Sleepy Joe Biden.”
According to the Daily Mail, the two judges in the majority were Judge Patricia Millett, who was appointed by Obama, and Judge Bradley Garcia, who was appointed by Biden. The dissenting judge, Neomi Rao, was appointed by Trump himself.
The lawsuit that led to Friday’s ruling was filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The group sued the National Park Service last year after the East Wing was demolished, arguing that the White House needed authorization from Congress before moving forward with the ballroom.
The Trump administration did not seek permission from Congress before starting the project. This is despite the fact that the president has previously pointed to growing support for the project overseas while defending its scale and cost. The judges in the majority noted the lack of congressional approval in their decision.
“Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help,” the majority wrote. They added, “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.”
The court’s ruling is on hold for 14 days. This gives the Trump administration time to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. “We will be immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said in a statement after the ruling came out.
This is not the first time construction on the ballroom has been paused during the legal fight. Work had already been halted twice before as the case moved through the courts. Earlier in the case, US District Judge Richard Leon, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, ordered a halt to construction happening above ground.
He allowed work below ground to continue. Leon had previously ruled that no law “comes close to giving the President” the authority to build the ballroom without approval from Congress.
The ballroom project is described as the largest remodel of the White House in modern history. It is expected to cover roughly 90,000 square feet. Trump has previously defended the project’s security features, including after a shooting near the Correspondents’ Dinner, when he argued the new space would be safer than existing venues.
It is not the only change Trump has made to the White House during his second term. He also oversaw a remodel of the West Wing Colonnade, which now includes the Presidential Walk of Fame. That addition features portraits of past presidents and new black granite flooring.
Trump has also ordered a redesign of the White House South Lawn, which will include a new helicopter landing pad. Additionally, he has directed the National Park Service to refurbish the White House’s front entrance.
Published: Aug 8, 2026 12:30 pm