From CBS News: A preservation group is once again asking a federal judge to pause all construction for a massive ballroom on the White House grounds backed by President Trump.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation first sued over the project in December, after the White House suddenly tore down the East Wing to make room for the ballroom and raised hundreds of millions of dollars to fund the 90,000-square-foot space.
In its latest court filing on Thursday, the group argued the Trump administration doesn’t have legal authority to build a ballroom without congressional approval. The group says a federal law that lets the president spend money on the “alteration” and “improvement” of the White House appears to only apply to relatively “minor” projects that use money appropriated by Congress, not a large-scale ballroom funded by private donations.
The group said the administration is “poised to commence within the next month above-grade construction that will dwarf the White House, irreversibly damage the Executive Residence, and distort the grounds and layout of President’s Park — all without Congressional approval, and all without meaningful consideration of the public’s input.”
U.S. District Judge Richard Leons already denied the same group’s earlier request to halt the ballroom project on other legal grounds: constitutional authority and necessary reviews. Leons suggested that the group focus its legal challenges on the president’s legal power, saying, “the Court will expeditiously consider it and, if viable, address the merits of the novel and weighty issues presented.”
The National Park Service projects completion of the ballroom project in the summer of 2028.
National Trust for Historic Preservation in US has filed another motion to halt building of Trump ballroom at White House
“Because the continuing, unlawful construction of the Ballroom makes the prompt issuance of preliminary injunctive relief essential, the National Trust…
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) March 5, 2026
Read more at CBS News
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