Appeals Court Sends White House Ballroom Case Back for Security Review

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sent the White House East Wing ballroom dispute back to the district court to clarify how much construction can proceed without compromising national security, after ruling there wasn’t enough information to decide what, if any, work can be halted. The district judge had paused work without congressional approval but allowed some security-related work to continue; the government argues the project includes critical security features, while the court noted the upgrades may be inseparable from the ballroom itself, leaving the scope of permissible progress unresolved and potentially escalate to the Supreme Court.