US President Donald Trump appears out on the White Home Ballroom development whereas arriving for a gathering with oil executives within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
The Trump administration is arguing {that a} choose’s order to halt development of a $400 million ballroom creates a safety danger for President Donald Trump because it asks a federal appeals courtroom to pause the ruling.
In a movement filed Friday, Nationwide Park Service legal professionals say that the federal choose’s order to droop development of the brand new facility is “threatening grave national-security harms to the White Home, the President and his household, and the President’s workers.”
“Time is of the essence!” the legal professionals write, citing supplies that can be put in to make a “closely fortified” facility. The ballroom development additionally contains bomb shelters, army installations and a medical facility, in keeping with the submitting. The ballroom is a part of President Donald Trump’s plans to rapidly remake Washington.
U.S. District Choose Richard Leon in Washington on Tuesday ordered the non permanent pause of the development undertaking that features demolishing the East Wing of the White Home. He concluded that except Congress approves the undertaking, the preservationist group suing to cease it’s prone to succeed on the deserves of its claims as a result of “no statute comes near giving the President the authority he claims to have.”
The choose suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days, acknowledging that the administration would attraction his determination.
Leon’s ruling and the attraction got here the identical week a key company tasked with approving development on federal property within the Washington area gave remaining approval to the undertaking.
In his ruling Leon, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, suspended enforcement of his order recognizing that “halting an ongoing development undertaking might elevate logistical points.”
Leon additionally addressed nationwide safety in his ruling, saying he reviewed data the federal government had privately submitted to him and concluded that halting development would not jeopardize nationwide safety. He exempted any development work that’s crucial for the security and safety of the White Home from the scope of the injunction.
Trump lashed out on the ruling, but in addition famous that it could enable work on underground bunkers and different safety measures across the White Home grounds to proceed — despite the fact that these can be paid for by taxpayers. Trump has pledged that he, together with non-public donors, will cowl the prices for the ballroom development.
However the Nationwide Park Service argues in its movement that the president has “full authority to renovate the White Home” and the present state of the grounds, which is an open development website, make it tougher to guard the White Home.
“Canvas tents, that are crucial with out a ballroom, are considerably extra weak to missiles, drones, and different threats than a hardened nationwide safety facility,” the movement says.
The Trump administration is asking the appeals courtroom to determine on its request by Friday. It additionally requested that the 14-day suspension of Leon’s order be prolonged by one other two weeks in order that the case could be taken to the Supreme Courtroom.
