Trump’s White House ballroom is expected to get approved days after judge’s ruling halting work

April 2, 2026:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom is expected to get final approval from a key commission. This comes after a federal judge ordered a halt to construction unless Congress approves the project. A spokesperson for the National Capital Planning Commission says the agency is moving ahead with Thursday’s (April 2, 2026) vote because the judge’s ruling affects construction activities, not planning. The ballroom is estimated to cost $400 million and has faced opposition and legal challenges. The Republican president aims to complete the ballroom project before his term ends in 2029. The ballroom will include security upgrades and is funded by donations and public dollars for security enhancements.

Feb. 26, 2026:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a preservationist group’s request to block the Trump administration from continuing construction of a $400 million ballroom where it demolished the East Wing of the White House. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled Thursday (Feb. 26, 2026) that the National Trust for Historic Preservation was unlikely to succeed on the merits of its bid to temporarily halt President Donald Trump’s project. The preservationists sought an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and wins approval from Congress. Trump proceeded with the project before seeking input from a pair of federal review panels. Trump hailed the ruling, but the National Trust said the judge’s decision also determined it had standing to continue the case.

Feb. 19, 2026:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal panel made up of President Donald Trump’s appointees has approved (Feb. 19, 2026) his plan to build a massive ballroom on the site of the former White House East Wing. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts is one of two federal agencies that must approve Trump’s plans. The National Capital Planning Commission, which has jurisdiction over construction and major renovation to government buildings in the region, is also reviewing the project. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued in federal court to halt construction. A decision in the case is pending.

Jan. 9, 2026:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday (Jan. 8, 2026) that it was not feasible to save the East Wing because of structural issues, past decay and other major concerns as officials shared details of President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom at a public meeting of the commission charged with approving it.

Josh Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, said an unstable colonnade, water leakage, mold contamination and other problems made it more economical to tear down the East Wing to make room for the $400 million ballroom than to renovate it.

“Because of this and other factors, the cost analysis proved that demolition and reconstruction provided the lowest total cost ownership and most effective long-term strategy,” Fisher told members of the National Capital Planning Commission.

It was the most comprehensive explanation to date for the dramatic demolition of the East Wing, which caused a public stir when it began in October with little advance notice.

The commission’s chairman, Will Scharf, who is also a top White House official, said he thought the project would ultimately be approved.

The project’s architect, Shalom Baranes, joined Fisher to provide a high-level view of the proposal to the commission. Baranes showed the panel renderings of the ballroom and views of the White House complex from the north and south with the addition.

Baranes said the design could include adding a second story to the West Wing colonnade to help make the White House more uniform with the new ballroom on the east side. But such a step would also dramatically alter the iconic space outside the Oval Office.

Fisher and Baranes said the project includes more than just a ballroom, and will also streamline visitor access to the White House and make unspecified improvements to Lafayette Park across the street.

Some of the 12 commissioners raised concerns, most vocally Democrat Phil Mendelson, who asked several questions about the ballroom’s size and location and whether those might change going forward. Baranes said “anything’s possible,” but added that the plans had been thoroughly studied.

Mendelson, who is also chairman of the D.C. Council, asked if the planned ceiling height of 38 to 40 feet (11.5 to 12 meters) could still be lowered before the final structure is finished and received assurances that the number wasn’t fully set. “It still seems to me it’s overwhelming the existing building,” Mendelson said.

Baranes said the idea would be to build the ballroom’s height to ensure it matches the rest of the White House. “The heights will match exactly,” he said.

Scharf listened to those and other questions Mendelson raised. Upon completion, however, the ballroom is expected to be larger than the rest of the existing White House.

Mendelson also asked why the project hadn’t been presented in its entirety to the commission before the East Wing was demolished. Fisher said some aspects of the ballroom construction were of a “top secret nature” and needed to be dealt with.

Scharf repeated his past assertions that the planning commission doesn’t usually have jurisdiction over site work and demolition on any project, including at the White House.

After the meeting, he expressed confidence that the project will receive the go-ahead.

“I certainly, based on the presentation today, I fully expect that the commission will … approve this project,” Scharf told reporters. “I think you just saw a very positive response to these preliminary drawings.” He acknowledged Mendelson’s concerns and suggested they would be addressed.

Only commissioners were allowed to ask questions and offer feedback at the meeting. A more formal review, including public testimony and votes, is expected after the White House submits a more detailed proposal. The panel’s next meeting is Feb. 5.

Before the meeting adjourned, Scharf argued that the White House needed a larger, more elegant space for major functions. He recalled visiting Windsor Castle last year with Trump and said, that when the president likely hosts King Charles III of Great Britain, “more likely than not, he will be hosted in a tent on the South Lawn with porta-potties.”

Scharf also said after the meeting that the commission is interested in more than whether the ballroom is a good idea. He said their concerns extend to how it affects the White House visitor experience and how the building fits in with others in the area and across the city.

Plans only recently offered

The White House in December submitted its ballroom plans to the commission, which is one of two federal panels that review construction on federal land — usually before ground is broken. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to halt construction of the ballroom, accusing the Trump administration of violating federal laws by proceeding before submitting the project for the independent reviews, congressional approval and public comment.

Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the Trust, said in a statement afterward that the White House presentation was a “good and necessary first step.” She urged the administration to comply with all legally required review and approval processes before starting construction.

A summary on the commission’s website said the purpose of the “East Wing Modernization Project” is to “establish a permanent, secure event space within the White House grounds” that provides increased capacity for official state functions, eliminates reliance on temporary tents and support facilities, and “protects the historic integrity and cultural landscape of the White House and its grounds.”

A comprehensive design plan for the White House prepared in 2000 identified the “need for expanded event space to address growing visitor demand and provide a venue suitable for significant events,” the summary said. It added that successive administrations had “recognized this need as an ongoing priority.”

Ballroom’s size and scope has grown

Trump, a Republican serving his second term, has been talking about building a White House ballroom for years. Last July, the White House announced a 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) space would be built on the east side of the complex to accommodate 650 seated guests at a then-estimated cost of $200 million. Trump has said it will be paid for with private donations, including from him.

He later upped the ballroom’s capacity to 999 people and, by October, had demolished the East Wing. In December, he updated the price tag to $400 million — double the original estimate.

The White House had announced few other details about the project but has said it would be completed before Trump’s term ends in January 2029.

Dec. 5, 2025:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is expected to submit plans for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom to a federal planning commission before the year ends, about three months after construction began.

Will Scharf, who was named by Trump as chairman of the National Capital Planning Commission, said at the panel’s monthly meeting Thursday (Dec. 4, 2025) that he was told by colleagues at the White House that the long-awaited plans will be filed sometime in December.

“Once plans are submitted, that’s really when the role of this commission, and its professional staff, will begin,” said Scharf, who also is one of the Republican president’s top White House aides.

He said the review process would happen at a “normal and deliberative pace.”

Separately, the White House confirmed Thursday that a second architectural firm has been added to the project.

Spokesperson Davis Ingle said architect Shalom Baranes of Washington, D.C., was needed as construction moves into a new phase. The firm has worked on federal properties across the nation’s capital, including the Pentagon and Treasury buildings, according to its website.

“As we begin to transition into the next stage of development on the White House Ballroom, the Administration is excited to share that the highly talented Shalom Baranes has joined the team of experts to carry out President Trump’s vision on building what will be the greatest addition to the White House since the Oval Office — the White House Ballroom,” Ingle said in an emailed statement.

“Shalom is an accomplished architect whose work has shaped the architectural identity of our nation’s capital for decades and his experience will be a great asset to the completion of this project,” Ingle said.

The initial firm, McCrery Architects, also of Washington, remains as a consultant.

If built as proposed, the 90,000-square-foot ballroom announced over the summer and expected to be ready before Trump’s term ends in 2029, would dwarf the White House itself, at nearly double the size, and the president has said it will accommodate 999 people.

The estimated price tag stands at $300 million, up from the White House’s initial $200 million.

Trump has said the ballroom will not cost taxpayers a dime because it is being privately funded by individuals he says are “patriots,” American corporations and himself. He has not said how much of his own money he is contributing.

The White House has released a list of 37 donors that includes crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, supporters of Republican causes and some of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump has long desired a ballroom at the White House and he complains regularly about the inability of its two largest rooms, the State Dining Room and the East Room, to host large events. He also has panned the use of large tents set up on the South Grounds for hundred-plus-person events, like a state dinner.

Last month, when Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited, Trump said he had upset a lot of people because he had to turn down their requests to attend an East Room dinner in the prince’s honor due to the lack of space.

“I only wish we had about 2,000 more seats. We would have filled every one of them two times over,” Trump said at the dinner, alluding to the proposed ballroom. “But very soon you’ll be having that, and we’ll have to do another one in about two years from now.”

In September, Trump moved ahead with site preparation work for the ballroom despite the lack of sign-off from the National Capital Planning Commission, the executive branch agency with jurisdiction over construction and major renovations to government buildings in the region.

Scharf has made a distinction between demolition work and above-ground construction, saying the commission only has jurisdiction over the latter. L. Preston Bryant Jr., a former chair of the commission under President Barack Obama, told The Associated Press that the approval process typically involved four stages, including an early consultation when the project was conceptual.

In October, Trump demolished the East Wing, where he has proposed to build the ballroom. Site preparation work has continued daily since then, with the sound of construction audible amid the hustle and bustle at the White House.

The East Wing was the traditional base of operations for the first lady and her staff. Several other White House offices also were housed in that wing. All currently are working out of space elsewhere in the White House or the office building next door.

The Washington Post was first to report on the addition of a new architect.