Trump ordered to halt ballroom construction as judges remind him he’s a ‘temporary tenant’

• A divided panel of appellate court judges in Washington, D.C., has ruled that President Donald Trump lacks the authority to fast-track a new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom and must halt construction to get Congressional approval.
• In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with historic preservationists who sued to stop construction. The judges stated that the president is considered a "temporary tenant" of the White House, not its owner, and cannot unilaterally demolish or build substantial portions of the Executive Residence.
• The court emphasized that there is no historical precedent for a president unilaterally using privately collected funds to alter significant parts of the White House, which Congress authorized and American taxpayers funded.
• The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued over the project in December 2025, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for the ballroom.
• Friday’s ruling marks a significant setback for the president's efforts to construct the addition to the White House, though the court will pause the ruling from taking effect for two weeks to allow the Trump administration time to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

IN FULL

Fresh blow to Trump as court says he must stop building White House ballroom and needs consent from Congress