WASHINGTON — Construction on a proposed $400 million ballroom at the White House will continue for at least several more days after a federal appeals court granted a temporary extension, citing national security concerns raised by the administration.
According to reporting by the New York Post, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 to extend a deadline that would have halted construction, allowing work to proceed until April 17 while the case is further reviewed.
The ballroom project, backed by Donald Trump, is considered a centerpiece of broader renovations to the presidential residence.
The extension follows a lower court’s preliminary injunction issued in late March that sought to stop construction, arguing that congressional authorization had not been obtained for the project.
However, attorneys for the administration warned that halting construction midstream could create serious vulnerabilities.
“A district judge ordered the President to halt ongoing reconstruction … leaving a massive excavation and structurally completed site adjacent to the now open and exposed Executive Mansion and threatening grave national-security harms,” Trump’s legal team argued in court filings.
The appeals panel said it could not “fairly determine, on this hurried record,” how national security concerns should factor into the case, prompting the temporary extension.
The lawsuit was filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which contends that the administration exceeded its authority and that Congress must approve such a significant alteration to a historic federal property.
“Defendants appear to contend that being prevented from illegally constructing a massive ballroom constitutes a national security emergency. It plainly does not,” the organization argued in court documents.
The planned ballroom would span approximately 90,000 square feet and is expected to be larger than the existing White House structure. The project site sits above the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, a secure underground facility originally constructed in the 1940s.
In addition to the ballroom, the administration is reportedly undertaking upgrades to the underground complex, further emphasizing security considerations tied to the project.
Trump has described the ballroom as a highly fortified structure designed with modern security features.
“It’s bulletproof, and it’s ballistic-proof. It’s very thick,” Trump said. “It’s going 45 feet high, and every window is covered, every door is covered, the roof is drone-proof. We have secure air handling systems. You know, bad things happen in the air.”
The ballroom initiative is part of a broader series of proposed changes to the White House and surrounding facilities, many of which have sparked legal scrutiny and debate over preservation and executive authority.
For now, construction will continue as the courts consider the case, with a more definitive ruling expected after the temporary extension expires.
Originally reported by Ryan King in NY Post.
.png)
.png)
