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DOJ told D.C. Circuit no court has authority to block Trump's $400m White House ballroom

At a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on June 5, 2026, a Justice Department lawyer argued that no court — not the panel, not the Supreme Court — has the authority to halt or order the demolition of President Trump's $400m White House ballroom, contending that only Congress could intervene. Pressed by Judge Patricia Millett on whether any court could stop the construction, the government answered no, even when asked whether courts could stop the executive from bulldozing the Statue of Liberty. The administration is appealing District Judge Richard Leon's earlier ruling that Trump lacked legal authority for the project.

Jurisdiction
federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

At the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on June 5, 2026, a Department of Justice lawyer told the panel that no court has the authority to halt construction of President Trump's $400 million White House ballroom or the associated secure underground facility, arguing that only Congress — not the judiciary — could stop the project. The administration is seeking to reverse District Judge Richard Leon's earlier ruling, which found the president lacked legal authority for the construction that sits on the site of the demolished White House East Wing.

The government's position was categorical. When Judge Patricia Millett asked whether the panel, the appeals court, or even the Supreme Court could order the building stopped, the DOJ lawyer answered that none could. Pressed further on whether courts would have any recourse if the executive decided to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty, the lawyer said he did not think there was any. The argument extended to the remedy itself: even if the construction were ultimately ruled unlawful, the government contended, ordering it torn down would be an abuse of discretion given the project's asserted national-security purpose and advanced state.

The claim is distinct from the separate procurement matters surrounding the ballroom and arch project addressed separately. Here the abuse is the assertion, made on the executive's behalf in open court, that the judiciary categorically lacks the power to review or enjoin executive action — a direct challenge to judicial review as a check on the executive branch.

Why we recorded this

Judicial review — the power of courts to check executive action — is a constitutional bedrock the Supreme Court affirmed in Marbury v. Madison. When the executive's lawyer argues in open court that no court at any level has authority to stop an executive action, regardless of its legality, the government is asserting that the judicial branch cannot constrain the presidency. That argument, made formally before a federal circuit panel, is a direct attack on the separation of powers and the rule of law.

Sources

  1. No court has authority to block Trump's White House ballroom, DoJ lawyer says — The Guardian primary accessed June 5, 2026
  2. Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Trump's Ballroom Arguments — The New York Times secondary accessed June 5, 2026
  3. Takeaways from the appeals court hearing on the White House ballroom project — CNN secondary accessed June 5, 2026

See also