Federal Courts and Historic Preservation

A federal appeals court last week allowed President Trump's $400 million East Wing ballroom overhaul to proceed, pausing a lower-court block. The project covers about 90,000 square feet in the White House East Wing and has drawn legal and public scrutiny. Officials say the work is tied to securing and modernizing underground protective facilities beneath the site.

A federal appeals court temporarily lifted Judge Richard Leon's injunction, allowing full White House ballroom construction to resume while legal challenges continue. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted an administrative stay of Leon's order, letting both the above-ground ballroom and the underground bunker proceed at least until a June 5 hearing.