DC Circuit stays White House ballroom halt until April 17

A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted 2-1 to stay Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's March 31 ruling that halted construction on Trump's planned White House ballroom. The appellate decision allows construction to continue until April 17 while the case proceeds. The project involves demolishing the White House East Wing to build a roughly 90,000-square-foot neoclassical ballroom estimated to cost at least $300 million. The Trump administration argued the construction involves classified national security upgrades including blast-resistant materials, drone-proof roofing, and underground medical facilities. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the lawsuit in December 2025, arguing the administration acted unlawfully by starting construction without congressional permission under the Appropriations Clause.