A U.S. federal appeals court has ordered the administration of Donald Trump to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House.
The ruling says that every president is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House, and therefore cannot change it without Congress’s approval, Reuters reports.
The decision upheld an earlier injunction sought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The organisation filed suit after the administration demolished the East Wing and began building a facility of more than 8,000 square meters without lawmakers’ authorization.
The appeals court stayed its ruling for 14 days to give the Trump administration an opportunity to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier, a district judge twice blocked above-ground work, allowing only underground construction. The Trump administration says the project is needed to accommodate large-scale official events and to ensure security.
A Justice Department representative said during the hearings that the former East Wing left the president vulnerable to attacks, and that the trust’s position amounts to nothing more than an architectural preference.