A divided federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration on 7 August 2026 to stop building a $400 million ballroom at the White House, ruling that President Donald Trump lacks the authority to proceed without congressional approval.

The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the project — a roughly 90,000-square-foot structure that would replace the former East Wing with a privately funded ballroom — must be authorised by Congress before construction can continue. The court's written opinion held that the ballroom would "disrupt the historical continuity of the White House grounds" and "adversely alter the design of the White House," according to the court document published on 7 August (D.C. Circuit opinion).

The Associated Press and ABC News reported that the three-judge panel was divided, with the majority siding against the administration. The ruling reverses a brief green light: in April 2026, an appeals court had frozen an earlier order by US District Judge Richard Leon that halted construction, allowing work to proceed while the case was heard (CNN). A separate appeals panel had in April sent the case back to a lower court to weigh potential national security implications of stopping construction (Spectrum News).

The litigation centres on an executive order authorising the demolition of an entire wing of the White House and its replacement with the ballroom, funded by private money. Reuters reported in June that the appeals court had openly questioned Trump's authority to erect the structure without lawmakers' sign-off (Reuters).

The White House has served as the official residence of every US president since John Adams moved in 1800. It has been rebuilt, renovated and expanded multiple times, but structural changes of this scale — demolishing a wing for a new 90,000-square-foot addition — have no modern precedent. The East Wing, which the ballroom would replace, was added in 1942 and currently houses the First Lady's offices and public visitor entrances.

President Trump said the administration will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, CBS News reported (CBS News). Whether the nation's highest court takes up the case will determine whether construction resumes or the project stays stalled.

The core question is a constitutional one: can a president unilaterally reshape the seat of executive power, or does the White House belong to Congress's purse strings and oversight? For now, the appeals court's answer is the latter.