A United States appeals court blocked above-ground construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House on Friday, ruling two to one that the project cannot proceed without authorisation from Congress.
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a modified preliminary injunction issued in April by District Judge Richard Leon. Work below ground may continue.
Judges Patricia Millett, appointed by Barack Obama, and Bradley Garcia, appointed by Joe Biden, wrote the 101-page majority. "Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help," they found, adding that each president is "a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House".
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented. She largely accepted the Justice Department's argument that the ballroom fell within the executive's authority to make improvements to the Executive Residence and was warranted on security grounds.
The case came from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which amended its lawsuit in March, and a coalition of eight heritage and architecture groups that filed on 23 March. The dispute followed the demolition of the East Wing to clear ground for the 90,000 square foot ballroom.
Carol Quillen, the National Trust's chief executive, called the ruling "a win for the American people on a project that forever impacts one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation".
The White House rejects the reasoning. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said Trump "clearly has the legal authority to modernize, renovate, and beautify the White House, just like all of his predecessors did". Trump has said he is "immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court", and has argued the ballroom is under budget, ahead of schedule and built at no cost to taxpayers.
The question the panel answered was narrower than either side's public framing. It was not whether a ballroom is desirable, or who is paying for it, but whether a president may reshape a building held in public trust without the branch that controls its appropriation. Two judges found he may not.
The court stayed its own ruling for 14 days so the administration can take it to the Supreme Court. Until that stay lapses or the Supreme Court intervenes, above-ground construction stays stopped and the excavation work continues.
