Trump Seeks Supreme Court Review of White House Ballroom Ruling

WHO:

CBS News - President Trump is involved in the appeal regarding the White House ballroom ruling.

Fortune - The National Trust for Historic Preservation is the nonprofit organization that sued the Trump administration over the ballroom project.

WHAT:

CBS News - President Trump announced he would appeal a federal appeals court ruling to the Supreme Court.

Fortune - A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump’s administration must stop construction of the $400 million White House ballroom.

Fortune - The appeals court stated that Trump does not have the unilateral authority to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

Fortune - The court's decision was a 2-1 ruling that sided with historic preservationists who sued to stop the construction.

WHERE:

CBS News - The construction site is located on the east side of the White House.

Fortune - The proposed location for the triumphal arch is a traffic circle between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.

WHEN:

Fortune - The appeals court ruling occurred on a Friday, with a stay on the ruling for two weeks to allow for an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Fortune - The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed the lawsuit in December 2025.

WHY:

Fortune - The court ruled that the construction of the ballroom requires Congressional approval, stating, “Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”

Fortune - Trump argued that permission from Congress was unnecessary because public money was not being used for the project.

HOW:

Fortune - The appeals court's decision upheld an April 16 order from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, which barred aboveground construction without Congressional approval.

Fortune - The Trump administration had requested $1 billion for the ballroom, which Congress refused in May.

(UPDATED August 9, 2026 04:59 UTC)

President Trump is appealing a recent federal appeals court ruling that ordered his administration to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom at the White House, stating that he does not have the unilateral authority for such a project. The court's 2-1 decision sided with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which had sued to stop the construction, emphasizing that Congressional approval is necessary for the project to move forward. The ruling, which included a two-week stay to allow for the appeal to the Supreme Court, followed a request from the Trump administration for $1 billion to fund the ballroom, a request that Congress denied in May.