White House Ballroom Construction Must Stop, Appeals Court Rules

Panel says it will give Trump administration two weeks to seek Supreme Court reviewWASHINGTON—A federal appeals court on Friday halted aboveground construction on President Trump’s planned White House ballroom, setting up a potential showdown at the Supreme Court over one of the president’s favored projects.In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that only Congress, not the president acting alone, can approve demolitions or design changes to the White House. Trump hasn’t secured congressional approval for the proposed 90,000-square-foot project. The panel upheld a lower-court decision.Advertisement“We are aware of...