Donald Trump just got handed the ruling he feared regarding the construction ...
The DC circuit court of appeals has just ruled on a two-to-one basis that the ballroom
is hereby blocked.
“Let me repeat that, Donald Trump's ballroom is hereby blocked.”
This affirms a district court ruling also blocking the construction of the ballroom. Now the decision by the DC circuit court of appeals has been stayed for 14 days, meaning it's been temporarily paused for 14 days, so Donald Trump can appeal to the Supreme Court. But we've been waiting on this decision by the DC circuit court of appeals to see if they
would affirm what the lower federal court ruled blocking the construction of the ballroom. This is Donald Trump's nightmare now.
As we always do here on the Midas Touch Network in a very diligent way, I want to go over
with you the DC circuit court of appeals ruling, so you can understand their reasoning for yourself and why this decision is very, very strong. My view is that it is possible. The Supreme Court will grant a stay and temporarily allow construction to continue. That's possible.
But clear if they'll do that, we know the Supreme Court usually makes the wrong decision.
“But ultimately, I believe the Supreme Court will affirm the decision that has been made”
by the DC circuit court of appeal, and they will block the construction or what's left of the construction, and that means you're just going to have this like junkyard looking thing that will remain there for the next two years or so, and it will, I think, be symbolic of the stain that is this Trump presidency. So let's just go through this order in a very methodical way.
You can see right here the case is the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and it is against the National Park Services at all, against Trump and against the Department of the Interior. You'll note that the decision was made on a two-to-one basis. You have Judge Millett and Judge Garcia.
Judge Rao was the dissenting vote here in a two-to-one decision, and here's the decision, very strongly worded.
“The White House is the People's House, and under the Constitution's property clause,”
Congress exercises plenary control over the building and its surrounding land. The White House is also the centerpiece of President's Park, a National Park stewarded by the National Park Service, according to the government as the oldest public building in the District of Columbia. The White House is the crown jewel, not just a President's Park, but also of Lafayette Square's
National Historic Landmark District, a site listed for preservation in the National Register of Historic Places. It goes on and talks about how this site was selected for the White House, and then it goes on and says, "Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner of the White House, and it's executive residents."
The President has no and claims no, constitutionally assigned authority over the property which is designed and maintained for the use of all presidents, current and future, and for the American people. As the Defendant National Park Service has explained, the White House is owned by the American people and stewarded by the National Park Service.
It is more than the President's resident, it is a site for protest and National Discourse about what it means to be America, and it says how any additions, subtractions, alterations
of the White House has always been the role of Congress.
Throughout history, Congress has appropriated funds, both for the White House maintenance, and for necessary physical improvements and additions. Congress, for example, authorized the repair and reconstruction of the White House after the British attempted to burn it down during the war of 1812. The court goes on to say, "We are aware of no instance in American history, in which
a president, unilaterally, and using privately-collected funds, demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for until now." And then it goes through the history of what went down. Over just three days in October 2025, without undertaking promised consultation or obtaining
Congress's permission, Trump bulldozed the entire east wing in order to construct a massive 90,000 square foot ballroom paid for by private funds with no congressional oversight.
Pause there.
We now know a lot of this is actually being paid for by taxpayer funds, and that we were
“all defrauded, and they said it would all be taken care of by private funds.”
But the demolition, perhaps, was all done by private funds. There is no factual dispute that the court says at this juncture. In fact, the defendants admit that the erection of this enormous ballroom will have permanent adverse impacts on the cultural landscape of President's park. Then it goes on to say how the national trust for historic preservation is the plaintiff.
They brought this suit, challenging the plan construction. The district court poliminerally enjoying the above-ground construction of the ballroom. That means the lower court, which is a federal district court blocked the construction of the ballroom. At the same time, the injunction expressly accepts from its scope all below ground construction,
including construction of bunkers, bomb shelters, and military and medical infrastructure, as well as above-ground construction, quote, "strictly necessary to cover, secure and protect such facilities to provide for the personal safety of the President and his staff and to ensure the safety security and structural integrity of the White House, the White House grounds, and the below-ground construction site.
You will recall that there were actually two injunctions that were issued by the district court.
The first one was a blanket injunction blocking all construction in the east wing.
And Donald Trump ran to the court of appeals and said, "My safety is being threatened." This ballroom is actually all about the bunker underneath and medical facilities that I need underneath.
“And other top secret classified things that I'm building underneath.”
And so I need the ballroom as a shield. I need it. I need it. And you can't block the hospitals that I need for myself. And the bunker that I need for myself and the data centers and everything else were building
underneath. We need that. So then the court of appeals said to the district court, "Can you clarify your order?" The district court then clarified its preliminary injunction and said, "We are enjoying everything above-ground, the ballroom, anything where you think you're going to be throwing
like parties or whatever the hell you think you're doing there." That needs congressional approval. All the below-ground stuff. You can still continue to build, you can build your bunker, you can build your hospital.
“And if it's above-ground, you have to show that it is strictly necessary for basically”
your safety in the White House. And the court made clear, the ballroom as it's been described is not that. The ballroom is not a shield. I'm not buying the ballroom as a drone port. That needs to stop.
So this district court opinion is blocking pretty much everything above-ground. Now Trump, of course, is going to argue, "No, no, no, it's all part of one cohesive structure."
But the circuit court of appeal here basically isn't buying that either.
They're affirming the district court, which didn't buy that. It's all needed for the underground stuff. That the ballroom is something that requires congressional approval. If you even think about upgrading your home without spending a fortune, you've got to check out article.
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visit article.com/mitis, and the discount will be automatically applied to check out. That's article.com/mitismeiDAS for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Then this order goes on to say, the defendants have appealed that preliminary injunction and requested a stay pending appeal. We affirm the grant of the preliminary injunction, meaning we agree with what the district
court said, with its safety and security exception, and deny the motion to stay as mood. There's nothing that we need to stay. We are affirming what the district court did.
We agree with the district court, and we will be blocking the construction of...
as well.
“You can build your hospital underneath and your bunker underneath.”
And then the court goes on to say, absent the injunction that's being ordered here, construction
of the ballroom will inflict permanent and irreversible harm to the historic architectural and aesthetic interest of the national trust members, as well as the design of the president's park. It goes on to say, and the White House and the surrounding area. The defendants themselves agree those irreversible harms will occur.
As for defendants safety and security concerns, the district court modified the preliminary injunction to protect them during the tendency of the litigation. In addition, the Constitution assigns Congress not the executive, the responsibility to decide whether proposed changes to the physical design of the White House may proceed, even where those changes are said to serve security interests.
“The defendants have not shown that Congress delegated that authority to either the president”
or the national park service. There are not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for executive self-help. This holding has nothing at all to do with whether the proposed ballroom is desirable or not. As a matter of policy, this ruling does not even necessarily mean that defendants may not
ultimately construct the ballroom.
What it does mean is that defendants may not do so during the district court's expeditious litigation without securing Congress's authorization as the Constitution and laws require. At this preliminary stage, the national trust has shown compellingly that Congress has not seated unfettered authority to the executive branch to dramatically redesign, reshape, and reconstruct the White House, the People's House, to fit a particular president's
desires.
“Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment, issuing the modified preliminary”
injunction, and vacate the courts administrative stay entered April 17, 2026. We will stay this decision for 14 days to allow the defendants if they choose to seek Supreme Court review. Undoubtedly, they will seek Supreme Court review now. This is a 136 page order.
I'm not going to read all 136 pages. Let me just point out a few more highlights to arm you with the knowledge that you need about this order. The constitutional property clause, as it's called, which requires congressional approval, is described as such.
Congress has exclusive authority to regulate the construction and demolition of White House structures. The Constitution's property clause, Ves Congress, with plenary control over all real property that belongs to the United States, and it sites the United States Constitution. The Congress shall have the power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations,
respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States. It goes through the procedural background, and it talks about how the park service under Trump, under the Department of Interior, chose without any explanation, not to publish environmental assessments or findings, showing that this would be incredibly harmful to the environment.
It would be incredibly harmful to the landscape in Washington, D.C., and Trump's Department of Interior and National Park Service literally hid the environmental impact reports and environmental surveys, which their own reports said this should not be delta. I think that's an important fact also. That came out in the discovery phase of the preliminary injunctions that were taking place.
One other kind of point that, if you're worried, will Trump still try to argue that the ballroom is part of one coherent design and that he needs the ballroom in order for there to be because the bunker and the hospital require the ballroom as its shield. The circuit court of appeal addresses that. The district court strongly disagreed.
The court first pointed out through all previous stages that defendants had repeatedly
represented that the project's underground elements, not anything above ground impacted national security and that construction of the security bunker below ground and the ballroom above were independent of each other. Defendants current claim that the ballroom and below ground bunker construction have been an inseparable and integral whole all along is indirect conflict with defendants prior representations
To the court.
In other words, they lie, they are liars.
“Thinking, I thought it was important that we go through, in short, a 136 page ruling”
like that, versus hearing me very emotionally describe the outcome of this act.
I want you to be armed with the ruling.
So you understand that there are judges who are an intelligent way going through facts, law,
“evidence and applying and that's why I ultimately became a lawyer.”
That's what I loved about law school when I went to Georgetown.
That's what I loved about being a litigator and it's the analytical approach I bring to this network.
“It's what I really care about and that's not to me democratic thing or public and thing”
and independent thing. It is an evidence-based thing. You tell me what you think. Hit subscribe. Is a fact-based thing.
It's law and order. Before you go, our book WTF America is available for pre-order now. It's the story of how we got here and how we find our way back. To pre-order, scan the QR code or click the link in the description. Let's do this.
(upbeat music)
