A federal appeals court lifted a construction halt Friday, allowing the Trump administration to resume work on a $400 million ballroom at the White House site where the East Wing once stood. The move came after a lower court judge had paused the project over questions about presidential authority to demolish the historic structure without Congress.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation had sued, arguing that Trump lacked the power to tear down the East Wing and build the ballroom in its place without legislative approval. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon initially sided with the preservation group in March, stopping aboveground construction.
But the appeals panel granted what it called an administrative stay, permitting work to resume while the court reviews the full legal challenge. The administration had warned that halting construction posed national security risks to the White House, the president and his family, and presidential staff.
Leon had previously allowed the administration to continue underground construction, including work on security facilities, but only on the condition that it not lock in the final size and scale of the ballroom aboveground. Friday's appeals court decision effectively overrides that restriction for now, clearing the path for full construction to move forward pending further arguments.
The appeals court emphasized that its emergency stay was procedural and did not constitute a ruling on the merits of the case. A hearing was tentatively scheduled for June 5.
Trump has said the ballroom is being financed entirely through private donations and corporate contributions, with funding from Meta, Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Palantir, Google and Comcast. The ballroom is one element of a larger presidential initiative to remake the nation's capital, which also includes a planned 250-foot arch and a multiyear Kennedy Center renovation.
Author James Rodriguez: "The court essentially punted on the constitutional question to keep shovels in the ground, which means the real fight over Trump's authority to demolish the East Wing is still coming."
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