A US federal appeals court has halted construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, siding with historic preservationists who sued to stop the project. The ballroom, a 90,000-square-foot addition, was initiated by the Trump administration after tearing down the historic East Wing without congressional authorization.

The court's order upheld a preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which filed the lawsuit last year. District court judge Richard Leon had previously expressed concerns about the safety and security risks posed by the incomplete construction, noting the existence of a "large hole" beside the White House as a problem of the President’s own making.

In response, former President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, calling the decision a "National Security Threat at the highest level." He emphasized that presidents, elected by the people of the United States, have rights including "to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds," and criticized the halt as occurring after much of the work had been completed and paid for.

Additional political figures weighed in on related issues: New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport highlighted the state's duty to uphold civil rights and humane treatment for detained individuals, while Oregon’s Democratic Governor Tina Kotek expressed support for locally set moratoriums on new data center construction, following Hillsboro’s recent temporary prohibition.

Sources