Amid the ICE murders in Minneapolis and other Trump chaos, the White House ballroom has almost become yesterday’s news, but the fight goes on. There is some optimism over the National Trust for
Historic Preservation lawsuit where the judge has signaled skepticism over Trump’s right to proceed.
Sam Combs is an Alaska architect who has been at the front of opposition to the ballroom. Recently, he gave a presentation on the “East Wing Modernization Project” presentation
at the Bartlett Club Community Forum in Anchorage. You can see his slide show at
https://interactiveresources.egnyte.com/dl/XjHPtXVd8P6M and hear comments at
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15SpxG6hhgasLbDH7EqNqSJyJLXIwyu9y/view.
White House ballroom: Judge signals skepticism of Trump administration arguments
The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to stop the project.
January 22, 2026, 9:07 PM
White House ballroom architect says renovations will alter West Wing
The architect said adding another story to the West Wing colonnade is being considered to restore "symmetry" once the ballroom is finished.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, FILE
The federal judge presiding over a challenge to the White House ballroom project signaled deep skepticism of the Trump administration’s
argument that the president has the legal authority to undertake the East Wing renovations and to fund them with private donations.
In a hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon pressed an administration lawyer on both of those issues — as he questioned
whether the president has the power to tear down part of what he called "an icon that’s a national institution," and described the intent to fund it with private gifts as a "Rube Goldberg contraption" that would evade congressional oversight.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed
a lawsuit last month seeking to stop the ballroom construction until the project completes the federal review process standard for federal building projects and the administration seeks public comment on the proposed changes.
Marine One, with President Donald Trump aboard, lifts off the South Lawn, Jan. 13, 2026 at
the White House.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP, FILE
White
House ballroom architect says West Wing additions considered for ‘symmetry’
The National Trust, the privately funded nonprofit designated by Congress to protect historic sites, was seeking a preliminary injunction.
At the end of the hour-long hearing Thursday, Judge Leon said he will likely not issue a decision this In a statement provided to ABC News,
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said: "President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense. These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents
and American visitors to the People’s House."
The White House announced
the construction of a 90,000-square foot ballroom in late July, and demolition began suddenly on the East Wing in
late October, when workers were spotted tearing down the wing of the White House that contained the first lady’s offices.
The size and cost of the project have increased since first being unveiled. In November, Trump said the project would cost $400 million,
after an initial estimate of $200 million. The White House has said the project will be funded by private donations.
Judge Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, said the Trump administration appears to be making an "end run" around congressional oversight with
the president’s plan to privately raise $400 million for the ballroom project, and he admonished the Justice Department’s lawyer to "be serious" in justifying a legal rationale for it.
An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished, Oct.
23, 2025.
Eric Lee/Getty Images
National
Trust for Historic Preservation sues to try to stop White House ballroom construction
While the case presents a series of complicated and overlapping legal issues, the judge spent much of the hearing focused on just two federal
statutes — one, which says that no "building or structure" can be built on any federal public grounds in the District of Columbia "without express authority of Congress," and another that calls for yearly appropriations for the "maintenance, repair, alteration,
refurnishing [and] improvement" of the White House.
Leon noted that Republicans control both houses of Congress, and that the president could have gone to lawmakers to seek approval for the
demolition and rebuild. He also suggested the $2.5 million Congress recently appropriated for White House maintenance was for "very small-size projects," not a ballroom.
Justice Department lawyer Yaakov Roth responded that Trump didn’t want $400 million in taxpayer money to be used for the project, when he
could solicit gifts to the National Park Service to fund it instead. Roth also noted that Congress was never asked in Gerald Ford’s era to approve the building of a swimming pool, or a tennis pavilion during Trump’s first term.
Trump
says no plans to name White House ballroom after himself
"[Your argument for using NPS’s gift authority] on an icon that’s a national treasure is, what? The ’77 Gerald Ford swimming pool?" Leon
asked. "You compare that to ripping down the East Wing? C’mon! Be serious."
Leon said he saw "no basis" in the legislative history of the park service’s gift authority that would allow Trump to use it to raise $400
million to build a new White House ballroom. "None," Leon said. "Zero."
Arguing for the National Trust, attorney Tad Heuer described the president as a "temporary tenant of the White House, not the landlord." Leon
suggested "steward" might be a more fitting term.
"He is not the owner," Heuer said.
President Donald Trump holds a floor plan of the planned White House Ballroom extension during
a meeting with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 22, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What
we know about the donors funding the White House ballroom
As Roth took the podium to begin his argument on behalf of the administration, he attempted to convince the judge that the National Trust
has no standing to sue. Leon abruptly cut him off.
"I’m very comfortable with standing in this case," Leon said. "Sorry to disappoint you. You’ll get your chance at the Court of Appeals."
Roth warned the judge that an order halting construction at this stage could expose the existing White House structure to damage and potentially
lead to security concerns, since it’s widely believed that a replacement for a previously-existing underground bunker is part of the project. The National Trust has said it would not object to continued construction on the security portion of the work.
"It can’t be divided out that way," Roth said of the security-related construction, "unless we want the court to be the project manager
on site."
Leon declined to issue an order from the bench. He said the coming winter storm made it unlikely he would issue a ruling on the National
Trust’s motion for a preliminary injunction before the end of this month.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddard contributed to this report.
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