A federal judge has ordered construction of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom to stop unless Congress authorizes the project, while allowing limited work to continue to address safety and security at the site. The decision comes as new reporting has highlighted plans tied to the underground Presidential Emergency Operations Center beneath the East Wing area.
A federal judge has temporarily halted construction of President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, ruling that the project cannot proceed without congressional authorization.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction sought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, concluding the group is likely to succeed in its legal challenge and ordering that work stop “unless and until Congress” approves the project, according to court-related reporting. Leon’s order allows certain work to continue to address ongoing security and safety needs at the construction site.
The case centers on the administration’s plan to add a large new ballroom at the White House. News reports describe the proposal as a major structural change to the complex and place the project’s estimated cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The administration has argued it has authority to pursue the plan and has emphasized security considerations tied to the demolition and construction area.
In filings described by NPR, Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the agency has been working with the contractor on temporary security and safety measures around the site and warned that even a temporary pause could hamper the Secret Service’s protective mission. NPR reported that administration officials also sought to provide additional details to the court in a classified setting to avoid discussing national security matters on the public docket.
Separately, the National Capital Planning Commission voted Thursday to approve a version of the ballroom plan, days after Leon’s ruling, according to multiple reports. The commission’s action does not override the judge’s order, which ties further construction activity to congressional authorization.
The legal fight has also renewed attention on the underground Presidential Emergency Operations Center, or PEOC, a long-secretive facility associated with the East Wing. NPR reported that the bunker dates to World War II-era security planning and that photographs released in 2015 showed senior officials sheltering there during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Public details about any modernization work beneath the site remain limited. While some outlets have reported that the existing PEOC was dismantled during recent East Wing demolition and that a modernized facility is planned, the administration and the Secret Service have not publicly described the scope of any underground construction in detail, citing security sensitivity.
