- Federal court blocked White House ballroom construction without congressional approval.
- Trump called ruling a
- He vowed immediate appeal to US Supreme Court.
- Judges said Congress, not executive, decides such redesigns.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to challenge a federal appeals court ruling that blocked construction of his proposed White House ballroom without congressional approval, calling the decision a “National Security Threat” and a “National Disgrace.”
Trump criticised the ruling in a post on Truth Social on Friday and said his administration would immediately appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
Trump Slams Appeals Court Ruling
A divided US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the administration could not proceed with the above-ground construction of the proposed ballroom without approval from Congress.
Trump accused the judges who backed the ruling of interfering with the administration’s authority to renovate and secure the White House complex.
“Two Judges, one appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, the other by Sleepy Joe Biden, said in a ruling on the desperately needed SECURE Ballroom/Military Complex, including a major DronePort on the roof, that ‘Each President is a temporary tenant…of the White House.’ We are not tenants… we are PRESIDENTS, elected by the people of the United States of America, and have many rights, including the right to fix, renovate, secure, protect, and beautify the White House grounds,” Trump wrote.
He sharply criticised the court’s decision, arguing that much of the work had already been completed and paid for.
“This decision, made after much of the work has been done and paid for, is a National Security Threat at the highest level. It is also a National Disgrace.”
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Trump Plans Supreme Court Appeal
The appeals court has stayed enforcement of its ruling for two weeks, giving the administration time to seek further review.
Trump confirmed that his administration would appeal to the Supreme Court and called for the ruling to be overturned.
“We will be immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court,” he wrote, calling on the nation’s highest court to overturn the decision “in its entirety.”
According to the court’s majority, Congress had not given the executive branch unrestricted authority to redesign or reconstruct the White House. Judges Patricia Millett and Brad Garcia formed the majority, while Judge Neomi Rao dissented.
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Ballroom Construction Blocked Without Approval
The legal dispute stems from Trump’s plan to replace the White House East Wing with an approximately 89,000-square-foot ballroom.
The appeals court said the question of whether the massive ballroom should be built was for Congress to decide and not something the executive branch could undertake on its own.
The ruling allows work on an underground security bunker to continue, but prevents above-ground ballroom construction from moving forward without congressional authorisation.
