A federal appeals panel has temporarily overridden a district court order that had restricted construction on President Trump’s proposed White House ballroom, allowing the project to proceed in full through early June. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued the stay on Friday, one day after a district judge had confined the project to below-ground work only. Oral arguments on whether to halt all construction have been scheduled for June 5.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon had first ordered construction stopped in March, citing the administration’s failure to secure congressional approval for the project. He revisited that ruling on Thursday and issued a narrower order permitting only below-ground construction to continue, rejecting the administration’s argument that halting above-ground work posed security risks to the White House complex.
The Department of Justice appealed Leon’s Thursday ruling the same day it was issued. In its filing, the DOJ warned that the decision could endanger the president and national security, and argued that the ongoing work stoppage was leaving a significant excavation adjacent to the Executive Residence unresolved.
The appeals court’s June 5 hearing will determine whether construction may continue beyond that date or whether a broader halt will be reinstated while the underlying legal dispute over congressional authorization is resolved.
