A federal appeals court on Friday allowed construction to continue on President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom until June, just a day after a federal judge halted progress.
The three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C., wrote in an order Friday that construction can continue both on the aboveground, 90,000-square-foot ballroom and the underground military bunker that Trump has included in the $400 million project to replace the East Wing.
The order scheduled oral arguments over the legality of the ballroom construction for June 5.
The court’s move pauses U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s Thursday order that blocked any aboveground ballroom construction from going into effect. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Leon argued Thursday that Trump was attempting to work around his earlier order that halted the project’s construction until the White House received approval from Congress, but with an exception for “actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.”
In response to that order, the Trump administration argued that that exception accounted for the entire project, including the aboveground ballroom, as it was necessary for the White House’s safety and security.
Leon disagreed Thursday, writing that the defendants’ argument was “neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”
The federal judge added that national security “is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity.”
The president sharply criticized Leon’s ruling in multiple Truth Social posts on Thursday, writing in one that Leon is a “Trump Hating Judge” who “should be ashamed of himself!”
In another post Thursday, Trump wrote that the ballroom is “deeply important to our National Security,” adding that the ruling “means that no future President, living in the White House without this Ballroom, can ever be Safe and Secure at Events, Future Inaugurations, or Global Summits.”
The legal roadblocks against Trump’s ballroom plans come as the president has also sought approval for other significant construction plans around Washington, D.C.
The president’s plans for a triumphal arch gained initial approval Thursday from a federal arts panel handpicked by Trump, clearing the way for the White House to make progress on the proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in honor of the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.
