President Donald Trump’s construction of a gilded 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom in place of the historic East Wing can continue, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Thursday.
Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dealt a blow to preservationists, who have challenged Trump’s legal authority to demolish the East Wing and erect a $400 million ballroom in its place without congressional authorization.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation asked for an immediate halt to the ballroom’s construction, citing the necessity for Americans to weigh in on the demolition of the “people’s house.”
But in his ruling, Leon held that the nonprofit did not mount the challenge to Trump’s statutory authority to build the ballroom with private funds through the correct vehicle.
The construction project is being managed by the White House Office of the Executive Agency, which Leon said is not a federal agency that can be sued under federal administrative law, the legal basis for the complaint.
“Unfortunately, because both sides initially focused on the President’s constitutional authority to destruct and construct the East Wing of the White House, Plaintiff didn’t bring the necessary cause of action to test the statutory authority the President claims is the basis to do this construction project without the blessing of Congress and with private funds,” Leon said in the 22-page opinion.
But the door remains open for further challenges. If the historic trust amends the lawsuit, Leon said, the judge would “expeditiously consider it.”
Demolition of the East Wing began last fall, quickly drawing widespread backlash. A slate of private donors, including many of the same tech and cryptocurrency giants who donated to Trump’s inaugural fund, have fronted the cash for construction.
The donors include corporations such as Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Google, Ripple and Coinbase, as well as individuals like the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The slate of Trump appointees who staff the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts approved the ballroom design after a hearing earlier this month. Above-ground construction could tale place as soon as April 2026, according to the White House.
In a Truth Social post celebrating the ruling, Trump falsely said Leon “completely erased” the effort to stop the ballroom’s construction.
But the opinion makes clear that the court is not closing the door on ballroom challenges brought under the correct legal pathways.
Trump has repeatedly touted the ballroom, which is one of several major construction projects he has planned for the district’s federal lands. The recent announcement of a 250-foot “Arc de Trump” over Memorial Circle, which would obstruct views of the Vietnam War and Lincoln memorials, has also drawn legal challenges.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter covering national politics and policy for MS NOW. You can send her tips from a non-work device on Signal at SydneyCarruth.46 or follow her work on X and Bluesky.