WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump from continuing construction of a planned $400 million ballroom at the White House, ruling that the project requires congressional approval.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a lower court order halting above-ground construction of the roughly 90,000-square-foot facility at the site of the White House's demolished East Wing. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The divided appeals court said the president does not have unilateral authority to undertake such a major structural alteration of the White House without authorization from Congress. The court said its decision addressed the legality of the project rather than whether the ballroom was desirable as a matter of policy.
The Trump administration had argued that congressional approval was unnecessary because the ballroom was being financed largely through private donations. The administration has also maintained that parts of the project serve national security purposes.
The court allowed some underground construction related to security to continue while blocking the above-ground ballroom work. The order is subject to a 14-day pause to allow the administration to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Trump said on Friday that he would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and defended the project as important to White House security.
The administration has not said whether it will seek an immediate emergency order from the Supreme Court to allow construction to resume. The legal challenge remains ongoing.
