National Capital Planning Commission

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s request to halt demolition and construction at the White House and allowed work to continue while ordering the administration to file ballroom plans with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts by month’s end. The privately financed project — now led by Shalom Baranes with McCrery as consultant — would add a roughly 90,000‑square‑foot ballroom (capacity ~999) with cost estimates ranging from about $300 million to $400 million, construction having begun in October with the East Wing demolished, an NPS environmental assessment projecting Summer 2028 completion and finding no significant NEPA impact despite historic‑setting changes, and ongoing legal and congressional scrutiny including preservationist suits and inquiries into donor involvement.