Overview
- A three-judge D.C. Circuit panel upheld a preliminary injunction that bars further above-ground work on the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, and the court stayed that order for 14 days to allow the administration time to seek emergency relief.
- The ruling lets below-ground construction tied to security work continue while forbidding new above-ground building except when strictly needed to protect those underground facilities.
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued after the White House demolished the East Wing, and the appeals court agreed that Congress—not the President alone—controls major structural changes to the Executive Residence.
- President Trump said he will immediately appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing the project is privately funded and essential for security, while the government maintains the work includes bunkers and other protective features.
- The split 2-1 opinion by Judges Patricia Millett and Bradley Garcia, with Judge Neomi Rao dissenting, raises a fresh separation-of-powers test over federal property control and leaves the ultimate outcome to Congress or higher courts.