A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the suspension of construction on a ballroom on the South Lawn of the White House, a project championed by Donald Trump . The president immediately announced he would appeal to the Supreme Court.
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled on Friday, August 7: construction of the ballroom commissioned by Donald Trump for the White House remains suspended. The court upheld the order issued in April by a lower court judge and gave the government fourteen days to potentially appeal to the Supreme Court.
Trump didn't wait for that deadline. "We will immediately appeal to the United States Supreme Court," he wrote on his Truth Social network, calling the decision "horrible," "politically motivated," and "illegal." He added that the military and the Secret Service shared this assessment.
The appeals court was careful to clarify that its blockage did not constitute a judgment on the merits of the project itself. The problem is procedural: the president initiated the work without obtaining congressional authorization. The government does not have "unlimited authority" to "redesign, remodel, and rebuild the White House—the People's House—to satisfy the personal desire of a president," the court wrote.
Construction began in October when bulldozers demolished an entire wing of the historic building. The planned hall is intended to accommodate up to a thousand people for receptions and dinners honoring foreign dignitaries. Trump is also citing security concerns, including the installation of a drone platform.
The cost of the project, funded by private donations, has meanwhile doubled, rising from $200 million to $400 million. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organization mandated by Congress to safeguard historic buildings, brought the case to court.
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