3 weeks ago

US Appeals Court Halts Trump's $400 Million White House Ballroom

President Donald Trump wanted to build a very big ballroom for parties at the White House, the president's home in Washington, D.C. The ballroom would cost about $400 million and could hold up to 999 guests.

To build it, workers tore down the East Wing, a historic part of the White House.

A group called the National Trust for Historic Preservation said the White House belongs to all Americans, not just the president, and went to court to stop the building.

The group's leader, Brent Leggs, called the court's decision 'a great day for our country.'

A court with three judges decided, by a vote of 2 to 1, that the president cannot build the ballroom unless Congress, the part of the government that makes laws, says yes first.

The judges said each president is only a 'temporary tenant' of the White House, not the owner.

One judge disagreed and said the court was stepping out of line.

Work that happens underground, like building a bunker for safety, can still continue.

The president's team now has two weeks to ask the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, to change the decision.

Key facts

Project cost: $400 million, up from initial estimates of about $200 million; media reports in June suggested costs could reach as much as $600 million
Project scope: 90,000-square-foot redevelopment of the East Wing site; ballroom itself about 22,000 square feet
Ballroom capacity: 650 to 999 guests, versus about 200 in the current East Room
Court ruling: 2-1 by the DC Circuit; above-ground work halted without congressional approval
Appeal window: 14 days to seek review by the US Supreme Court
Earlier injunction: Judge Richard Leon barred above-ground work on April 16
Lawsuit: Filed in December 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Funding: Trump says the project is privately financed; June media reports said significant taxpayer funds were also going to the project