The Trump administration must stop all aboveground work on its $400 million White House ballroom project until Congress gives it approval, a federal judge ruled Thursday, tightening an earlier order that had already put the work on hold. The court said construction may continue underground, including on a military complex the White House wants built beneath the ballroom.
The ruling deepens a fight that began when crews started tearing down the East Wing in the fall to make room for the new ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued Trump and members of his administration over the project, arguing the work was moving ahead without the authorization it needs.
On March 31, the judge had ordered that the ballroom construction project must stop until Congress authorizes its completion, but left open the possibility that some work could continue if it was necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House. Thursday’s order went further. It barred all aboveground construction while allowing underground work to proceed, a distinction that matters because the administration is now defending the project as a national security upgrade.
The White House is pointing to the underground complex it wants to build below the ballroom. That facility would replace the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, the secure bunker built under the now-torn-down East Wing during World War II. The government created the PEOC to protect top White House officials, and it was used during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when several officials were escorted there, including then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
The bunker has long been a little-known part of the White House complex. In 2024, the White House Historical Association described it as a secret space with thick concrete walls, steel-sheathed ceilings, a small presidential bedroom and bath, and nearby rooms for ventilation masks, food storage and communications equipment. The association said it can become a command center for the president as needed.
That history helps explain why the administration is trying to keep part of the project alive even as the ballroom itself remains frozen. Laura Bush wrote in her memoir that on Sept. 11, 2001, she was brought to the facility after being hustled inside and downstairs through a pair of big steel doors that closed behind her with a loud hiss, forming an airtight seal. The judge’s latest ruling leaves the White House able to pursue the underground portion, but not the visible construction that triggered the lawsuit and the broader dispute over whether the administration can move ahead without Congress.