Federal judges say White House ballroom construction can continue, for now

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

April 11, 2026 at 1:32 p.m. EDT


A panel of federal judges is allowing construction to continue for now on President Donald Trump's planned White House ballroom while instructing a lower court that temporarily halted the project to seek more information on whether a pause poses a national security risk as Trump claims.

The three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit consists of Patricia Ann Millett, an appointee of President Barack Obama; Bradley Garcia, an appointee of President Joe Biden; and Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee.

Rao dissented, arguing that the plaintiff in the case, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit charged by Congress with helping to preserve historic buildings, lacked the standing to sue.

In its order issued Saturday, the panel instructed U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who in March ordered a halt to Trump's planned $400 million project until the White House obtains approval from Congress, to clarify how his earlier ruling "will ensure safety and security pending litigation." The White House and the National Trust for Historic Preservation did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/11/judges-trump-ballroom-appeal/

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No paywall (gift)

Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.42993/gov.uscourts.cadc.42993.01208839738.0_2.pdf


REFERENCES


https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143581414
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143582981
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143583769
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143603562
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143622652
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143634344
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143641681
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143642605
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143644145

The stay on the injunction only goes until April 17.

[Walleye]

1. He is busy soliciting bribes from foreign countries. Why do we even have a constitution anymore?

Bribery is one of the enumerated crimes that are impeachable

[angrychair]

2. Truly no justice system

The Judicial branch only exists to help the wealthy and well connected and to keep the poors under control.

The system is working as intended.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Appeals Court Punts Trump Bid to Revive White House Ballroom

Judge Leon had stayed his ruling for 14 days in the original ruling. This ruling extends the stay by another 3 days. The majority of this court of appeals panel wants more information about the national security claims and the GOP judge wanted to just lift the stay. Expect more filings next week and there may be a hearing to put on the record what national security interests need to be addressed.

Link to tweet

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/appeals-court-punts-trump-bid-to-revive-white-house-ballroom

A federal appeals court asked a Washington federal judge to further explain his ruling that blocked President Donald Trump from building a 90,000-square-foot ballroom on the site of the demolished White House East Wing.

The order from a divided three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Saturday sidesteps, for now, the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court decision that halted construction until Congress approved the project, while the government appeals it.

Justice Department lawyers had argued in an April 3 emergency motion that the lower court’s order pausing construction and leaving an open excavation site is “untenable” and threatened the security of Trump and his family and staff. The government also said it may ask the Supreme Court for emergency relief if the request is denied.

The appeals court sent the case back to Senior Judge Richard Leon, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, for the judge to “promptly address” a request to clarify his ruling and its exception for construction needed for safety and security. The panel also extended a stay on Leon’s order until April 17 to give the federal government time to ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court’s remand order.

The panel said they could not “fairly determine, on this hurried record” the extent to which the lower court’s exception for security-related work may address the Trump administration’s claims that ruling puts White House staff at risk. They also said it “remains unclear” how ballroom construction affects below-ground security upgrades.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. DC Circuit, 2-1, asks Judge Leon to clarify how the "safety & security" exception to his injunction

Link to tweet

[Bayard]

5. If it was so necessary for safety and security,

Why did he destroy the East Wing? It had a bunker underneath it.

[slightlv]

6. He hated that bunker...

total embarrassment when he took shelter in it in his first mal-administration. The only thing these rulings are holding up are his opportunities for grabbing onto more bitcoins and other fiat currency. IOW, it's not making him rich enough, fast enough... and he wants the delays stopped. He MUST have ALL the money he can possibly get prior to the next set of elections. Even if he's not planning on going anywhere, he must have a "go bag" packed and ready to flee on demand.

Other than that, it'd be kinda neat if we could do one of these movie type sci-fi moves through the basement.