Appeals Court Says Trump Needs Congress to Build White House Ballroom

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump cannot complete the planned White House ballroom without approval from Congress, upholding a lower-court order that halts aboveground construction. The Associated Press reported that the 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was stayed for two weeks so the administration can appeal.

Judge Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, wrote the majority opinion, joined by Judge Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee. Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented. According to Reason, Millett wrote that “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House,” and that “whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide.” The AP noted that the court stressed it was not ruling on whether the ballroom is good policy.

The case, brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, concerns a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the East Wing, which Trump had demolished last October. Reason reported that the estimated cost is $400 million. The administration proposed financing it with private donations passed through the National Park Service under the Economy Act. The majority rejected that theory, Reason reported, reasoning that an agency cannot use the Economy Act to do what it could not lawfully do on its own, and that a statute covering upkeep of the Executive Residence does not by itself give the government independent authority to carry out the project without a relevant congressional appropriation. The majority also cited a federal law requiring the express authority of Congress for structures on federal grounds in Washington.

The panel narrowed the district court’s injunction. Under the ruling, underground work and parts of the project strictly necessary for security can continue, Reason reported, and the AP said that includes bunkers, military installations and medical facilities. The government has argued that the complex includes security upgrades against threats such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards. Preservation groups countered that the lack of a ballroom is not a national security emergency, the AP reported.

In dissent, Rao argued the project is likely within the president’s authority to make improvements to the Executive Residence and that the National Trust likely lacks standing to sue. She called the district court’s injunction a “blatant abuse of discretion,” according to Reason. The majority concluded the Trust probably does have standing.

Trump called the ruling “unjust” and said the administration would appeal immediately to the Supreme Court. In a social media post, the AP reported, he quoted Rao’s dissent, called the decision politically motivated and said the complex includes bomb shelters and a hospital. The government has 14 days to seek Supreme Court review, per Reason.

Funding has been a point of contention. Trump says the money comes from corporations and wealthy donors rather than taxpayers, the AP reported. The administration asked Congress for $1 billion, which lawmakers declined to provide in May. Brent Leggs, the National Trust’s president and chief executive, said the law requires Congress to authorize a ballroom at the White House and that the ruling upholds that principle.

The administration has said it will take the dispute to the Supreme Court; the court’s stay gives it 14 days to seek review, and the injunction remains on hold in the meantime. The majority concluded the Trust probably has standing, a point on which Rao disagreed.