A US appeals court on Friday upheld an order halting work on Donald Trump’s prized White House ballroom, enraging the US leader and setting up another Supreme Court battle over the limits of presidential authority.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which had permitted construction to proceed while the lawsuit was being heard, agreed with a lower court that such a huge White House refurbishment required Congress’ explicit authorization.
It delayed its own decision for two weeks to give Trump time to petition the Supreme Court for intervention.
Following the 2-1 decision, the Republican president slammed it as “horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful.”
The two majority judges were appointed by Democratic presidents, while the dissenter was nominated by Trump himself.
In a long social media message, the president vowed to file an instant appeal to the Supreme Court.
“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,” Trump said in another post on his Truth Social platform on Friday night.
Trump first endorsed the ballroom’s construction as required for hosting galas but has since repeatedly emphasized the contemporaneous erection of an underground military bunker and other security measures.
The district judge’s initial ruling permitted development to continue on a restricted number of structures, including those underground.
“This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable or not as a matter of policy. This ruling does not even necessarily mean that the Defendants may not ultimately construct the ballroom,” the majority wrote Friday.
“What it does mean is that the Defendants may not do so during the district court’s expeditious litigation without securing Congress’s authorization, as the Constitution and laws require.”
Trump, who has regularly complained about the White House’s lack of space for large galas like state dinners, ordered the vast ballroom’s construction unilaterally.
Work on the renovation began last year with the abrupt demolition of the White House’s whole historic East Wing.
Since then, photographs have revealed extensive activity on an underground complex, with some concrete walls rising above ground.
Trump has stated that the ballroom will be privately funded, but media reports in June indicated that major federal monies were being allocated to the project, which might cost up to $600 million.
While the White House first estimated a $200 million cost for the project, it swiftly increased that figure to $400 million.
The ballroom is just one of Trump’s pet projects that will leave an imprint on Washington by the time he leaves office in 2029, along with a refurbishment of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and other parks and the construction of a massive arch.
Several other projects have faced legal challenges, but the ballroom proposal would be the first to reach the Supreme Court.
