Update on Proposed White House Ballroom

In December of 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, alleging that replacing the East Wing of the White House with a massive ballroom violated Federal law. In response, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) declared an open period for public comment. Preserve RI, along with many other organizations and individuals took advantage of the opportunity to speak up about the scale, design, and appropriateness of the project. The comment window closed on March 4th. Since then, two important steps have been taken. 

First on April 2nd, the NCPC issued a planning ruling in favor of the Trump Administration. The approval came despite a public outcry over the proposed ballroom. Almost all public comments submitted to the NCPC were against the proposal, leaving the reasoning behind this decision questionable. This approval does not affect the District Court decision.

Second, responding to the National Trust’s lawsuit, Judge Leon of the U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction halting construction of the ballroom within two weeks. Discussing President Trump’s relation to the White House in his ruling, he wrote “The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families. He is not, however, the owner!” Judge Leon agreed with the National Trust that this project requires Congressional Approval, though President Trump vehemently disagrees. Judge Leon’s preliminary injunction stop order is set for April 17th.

The fate of the White House Ballroom is still unclear; the Trump Administration has made it a priority. Preserve RI will continue to monitor and provide updates as they occur.