Court blocks Trump’s White House ballroom, citing lack of congressional approval

On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a lower-court injunction that will halt the Trump administration’s proposed White House ballroom, set to take effect on August 21. The panel found that the National Park Service, which oversees the parkland beneath the White House, lacks authority to fund a new structure, and that the president cannot rely on a statute permitting maintenance of the executive residence without an accompanying congressional appropriation.

Although the administration argues that private donations cover part of the cost, the court emphasized that such gifts must be directed by law and cannot substitute for required congressional authorization. Chief Justice John Roberts subsequently permitted limited construction to continue while the legal challenge proceeds, but the ruling leaves untouched an underground military bunker the administration is renovating. Legal scholar Ellen P. Aprill noted that no historical precedent exists for a president to demolish and rebuild White House sections using privately raised funds without congressional consent.