Trump's White House ballroom and his triumphal arch in Washington

The ballroom was soon in court. In December 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to halt the project until it went through independent reviews and won the approval of Congress.^[13] On March 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon halted construction, ruling that Trump had to get permission from Congress before continuing.^[14] When the administration argued that work had to proceed for national security reasons, Leon called the argument "disingenuous" and ordered the pause again. He allowed underground work on a presidential bunker beneath the ballroom to continue.^[15] A day later, an appeals court let construction go on until June while it considered the case more fully.^[16]

In August, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that work on what had become a $400 million ballroom and military complex must stop, except for below-ground construction, because Congress had not authorized it. Trump called it an "unjust decision" and attacked the two judges in the majority as appointees of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.^[3] In late August, the Supreme Court allowed construction to continue in a 5-4 order, with Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's liberal justices in dissent.^[4]

Trump has proposed the arch, rising across the river from the Lincoln Memorial, to mark the nation's 250th anniversary, and designs were released in April 2026.^[2] In May, the Commission of Fine Arts, whose members Trump appointed, gave the design final approval despite overwhelming public opposition, and Trump said he did not need approval from Congress.^[17] A National Park Service report in August backed the arch while finding it would have adverse effects on the sightlines between landmarks including the Washington Monument and the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.^[18]

Work on the arch site became the next fight. In early September, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said excavation at the Memorial Circle site would begin within two weeks, as veterans and an architectural historian argued the monument needed congressional authorization.^[19] The next day, a federal judge ordered the administration to give 48 hours' notice before most activity on the site.^[6] Weeks later, Trump said that "at the strong request of the United States Military" he would convert the arch into a military complex that could house drones and snipers.^[20] In October, Arlington County, Virginia, filed a lawsuit to block the arch.^[7] Final plans for the arch released that month did not mention a military complex, though the Interior Department said the plan could accommodate one.^[21] Later in October, the administration told a judge that construction could begin on the day the National Capital Planning Commission gave the arch its final review, at a meeting set for November 5.^[22]

The legal fights multiplied as a final decision neared. The District of Columbia and Virginia filed a joint lawsuit arguing that the administration was rushing the project,^[8] and a court held an emergency hearing on the plans on October 30, as the administration said construction could begin as soon as the following week.^[23][24] CNN reported that the final vote was poised to set off a fresh round of legal fights.^[5] On November 4, the day after Republican losses in the midterm elections, Trump showed reporters the ballroom construction site.^[25]

Nine members of the Kennedy family sued in November to block the arch, saying it would cast shadows on family gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery and permanently diminish the memorials to President John F. Kennedy and his relatives there.^[9] On Veterans Day, Trump suggested the arch might be dedicated to veterans and the military, though three veterans had joined a lawsuit to stop it.^[26]