Overview
- A federal appeals court, which ruled on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, ordered a stop to all above‑ground work on the planned 90,000‑square‑foot White House ballroom because Congress has not authorized the project.
- The court left below‑ground construction for a bunker and other security facilities in place and paused enforcement of its order for 14 days so the administration can ask the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency relief.
- Two judges in the D.C. Circuit majority said Congress controls major changes to the White House and described each president as a temporary tenant of the Executive Residence, while Judge Neomi Rao dissented and argued the courts had overstepped.
- The project, begun after the East Wing was demolished in October 2025, is estimated at about $400 million; the administration says private donors will pay but court filings and reporting have raised questions about public spending for security work.
- The ruling upends the administration’s timetable and sets up a likely Supreme Court test of how far a president can alter public federal property without lawmakers’ approval, and it preserves the preservationists’ claim that the White House belongs to the American people.