The Trump administration argued in a court filing Monday that construction on the president’s White House ballroom must move forward for unspecified national security reasons, and said the preservation group seeking to stop the project lacks legal standing to sue.
The filing responds to a lawsuit brought last Friday by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is asking a federal judge to pause President Donald Trump’s project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews, a public comment period, and receives congressional approval.
In its 36-page response, the administration included a declaration from Matthew C. Quinn, the deputy director of the U.S. Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting the president and other senior officials. Quinn said additional work at the former East Wing site remains necessary to satisfy the agency’s “safety and security requirements.” The filing did not spell out the specific national security concerns, but said the administration is willing to share classified information with the judge privately, without the plaintiffs present.
The East Wing had been located above an emergency operations bunker for the president. Quinn said that even a temporary pause in construction would “consequently hamper” the agency’s ability to carry out its statutory duties and protective mission. A hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday in federal court in Washington.
The government’s filing offers the most detailed account so far of the ballroom project, including insight into how it received swift approval within the Trump administration and how the scope of the project has expanded.
According to the filings, final plans for the ballroom have not yet been completed, even as demolition and preparatory work continues. John Stanwich, the National Park Service’s liaison to the White House, wrote that below-ground work is ongoing and that foundation work is expected to begin in January. He added that above-ground construction “is not anticipated to begin until April 2026, at the earliest.”
The National Trust for Historic Preservation did not respond to email requests for comment.
The privately funded preservation group last week asked the U.S. District Court to block the project.
“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit states. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”
Trump ordered the East Wing demolished in October as part of plans to build an estimated $300 million ballroom spanning about 90,000 square feet and capable of hosting roughly 1,000 people before his term ends in January 2029. He has said previous presidents long wanted a larger event space and that the ballroom would eliminate the need to host visiting foreign dignitaries in large temporary tents on the South Lawn.
The Trust argues that the proposal should have been submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, and Congress before any work began. The lawsuit says the organization wrote to those bodies and the National Park Service on Oct. 21 — after demolition had already started — urging the administration to halt the project and comply with federal law, but received no response.
The suit cites multiple federal laws and regulations outlining the roles of planning agencies and lawmakers in government construction projects.
In its response, the administration said the president has broad authority to modify the White House, pointing to the long history of renovations and additions to the Executive Mansion over more than two centuries. It also argued that the president is not bound by the statutes cited by the plaintiffs.
Justice Department lawyers wrote that the Trust’s claims related to the East Wing demolition are “moot” because the structure has already been torn down and cannot be restored. They also argued that challenges to future construction are “unripe” because the plans are not final.
The administration further maintained that the Trust cannot show “irreparable harm,” noting that above-ground construction is not expected to begin until the spring. It said the reviews sought by the lawsuit — including consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts — “will soon be underway without this Court’s involvement.”
Trump’s ballroom proposal has drawn criticism from historic preservation advocates, architects, and political opponents, but the lawsuit represents the most concrete effort so far to change or halt the project. The planned addition would be nearly twice the size of the White House as it existed before the East Wing was demolished.
According to the administration’s filing, the National Park Service’s Comprehensive Design Plan for the White House, released in 2000, first identified the need for a larger event space to accommodate growing visitor numbers and to provide an appropriate venue for major functions.
