The majority also vacated the appellate court’s April 17 administrative stay, which had allowed above-grade construction to resume. However, because the panel stayed its Aug. 7 ruling for 14 days to allow the administration to seek Supreme Court review, Leon’s restrictions do not take effect immediately.

“We will be immediately appealing to the United States Supreme Court,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling the ruling an “unjust decision.” He also characterized the project as an integrated national security complex and said the military and Secret Service viewed the decision as a threat to White House security.

Trump separately rejected the appeals court majority’s description of presidents as “temporary tenants” of the White House, asserting that presidents have authority to renovate, protect and secure the complex.

The president also offered an unusually specific assessment of the project’s construction status, saying the entire complex is “largely built, fabricated and paid for,” with much of the material already on site or being delivered. ENR could not independently verify those claims.

If no further stay is obtained, the injunction will again divide the project into permitted and prohibited construction.

Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ENR →

Below-ground military, medical and security infrastructure may continue, along with above-ground construction strictly necessary to cover and protect those facilities, provide for presidential safety or maintain the safety and structural integrity of the White House grounds and construction site. Work advancing the ballroom’s above-ground size and scale would be prohibited. 

Since the spring injunction, above-ground construction has advanced into the ballroom’s ground floor. The appellate majority said construction has begun on “portions of the pillars that will support additional floors.”

ENR reported in April that foundations and below-grade structural concrete were largely complete and that the project was transitioning into superstructure work when the appellate court temporarily reopened vertical construction.

The appellate record also provides new details about how the administration says the ballroom superstructure relates to underground security infrastructure.

Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll told the court that the ballroom is designed as part of a “dual-layered system” protecting facilities below it, with the above-ground structure serving as a sacrificial outer layer around a hardened inner structural element. He said the height and mass of the ballroom are necessary to provide adequate protection without placing underground facilities impractically deep.

The commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers similarly told the court that the ballroom’s height and mass would provide physical layers shielding the underground facilities and an elevated platform to counter aerial threats such as drones. The Secret Service argued that prolonging the construction period extends security vulnerabilities associated with the unfinished site.

The majority held that those concerns did not require the continuation of ballroom construction, noting that Leon’s injunction permits underground construction and above-ground measures needed to protect those facilities.

The majority also pointed to the administration’s earlier representations that below- and above-grade construction could proceed independently, finding its later position that the two were inseparable was “in direct conflict with Defendants’ prior representations.” The court also noted that the overall project is not scheduled for completion until 2028.

The majority further rejected the administration’s assertion that construction delay and additional costs weighed against an injunction, saying the government had not substantiated those potential losses sufficiently to demonstrate a serious burden. The court record does not quantify potential contractor delay, demobilization or other costs if vertical construction stops again.

At the center of the ruling is the majority’s conclusion that the administration likely lacks statutory authority to construct the roughly 90,000-sq-ft ballroom without congressional authorization. The court rejected arguments that existing National Park Service authority and federal law covering maintenance and improvements to the Executive Residence provide sufficient authority for the project.

The court emphasized that its ruling does not determine whether the ballroom can ultimately be built. Rather, the majority said the administration cannot continue constructing it during the underlying litigation without obtaining congressional authorization.

Rao disagreed on each of the major points underpinning the injunction. In dissent, she argued that plaintiff—the National Trust for Historic Preservation—lacks standing, that the ballroom likely qualifies as an authorized improvement to the Executive Residence and that the government’s White House security interests outweigh the aesthetic harm asserted by the Trust. In short, she would have permitted construction to advance.

The funding record has also changed since ENR’s spring coverage. The White House maintains that construction of the ballroom itself is privately financed. The administration has directed more than $350 million in Secret Service funding toward what it describes as White House security measures associated with the broader East Wing modernization, prompting congressional questions about the boundary between privately financed ballroom work and federally funded security infrastructure.

Private Funding May Deliver Trump’s White House Ballroom—but What Pays for the Rest?

Unless the Supreme Court grants further relief before the 14-day stay expires, Leon’s split construction limits will take effect, barring work on the above-ground ballroom while permitting underground security and protective work.

The National Trust said the ruling confirms its position that congressional authorization is required. President and CEO Brent Leggs said the injunction, once effective, would block above-ground construction “unless and until Congress takes action.”