Trump administration files emergency motion to restart social gatherings
A judge’s order halting construction on the White House ballroom poses a national security risk, the Trump administration argued in an emergency motion seeking to overturn the ruling.
A federal appeals court has ruled that work on President Trump’s new $400 million White House ballroom can continue for now.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled on Saturday, April 11, that construction on the ballroom can continue until at least April 17. This is a three-day extension of a March 31 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon that allowed construction to continue while the government appeals the decision.
The appellate judges voted 2-1 to extend the moratorium until April 17 and asked the district court to clarify the order granting the injunction. In an April 3 motion, the Trump administration argued that the potential April 14 shutdown would leave the White House “open and open,” resulting in “significant national security harm” to the building, the president, his family, and staff.
Leon, an appointee of former Republican President George W. Bush, ruled that construction of the 90,000-square-foot ballroom must be paused while a lawsuit brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation is pending in court. The lawsuit seeks to halt the $400 million project on the site of the recently demolished East Tower, saying it is illegal and asking the court to halt further construction until the plans go through a legally mandated review process.
In an order issued April 11, the three-judge panel wrote that “it remains unclear whether and to what extent the development of certain aspects of the proposed banquet hall is necessary to ensure the safety and security of underground national security upgrades or to ensure the safety of the White House and its occupants while the appeal proceeds.”
The committee then asked Leon to address how his previous judgments dealt with the issue of “safety and security during litigation.”
The three judges are Patricia Ann Millet, who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2013; Bradley Garcia will be appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023. Neomi Rao was appointed by President Trump in 2018 to replace Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the Court of Appeals.
Rao issued a statement of opposition, saying the National Trust “doesn’t have standing to sue” and that Trump has the authority to improve the White House.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit in December 2025, alleging that Trump exceeded his authority by demolishing the historic East Tower, which was built in 1902 during President Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and expanded in 1942, without permission from Congress.
Contributor: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, Reuters.
Mike Snyder is a national trends news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, and X, and email him at: mike snyder & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.
