Coalition Files Amicus Curiae Brief in White House Ballroom Case

Today, eleven national and local nonprofit organizations devoted to architecture, landscape, historic preservation, planning, and National Parks stewardship joined together in filing an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief supporting the National Trust for Historic Preservation in its lawsuit over the proposed White House Ballroom. The litigation challenges the Trump Administration’s demolition of the White House East Wing and ongoing construction of a massive new ballroom structure on the historic White House grounds, a designated National Park.

A preliminary injunction granted to the National Trust by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon on March 31, 2026, has been stayed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit pending an appeal by the Trump Administration. A hearing before a panel of the Circuit Court is scheduled for Friday, June 5, 2026.

In the brief, the amicus organizations make a number of points, including the following:

• Each president is but a temporary steward of the White House, and no president has the inherent right to destroy any portion of the White House complex or undertake a huge construction project such as this without obtaining express approval from Congress. No such authority has been granted in this case.
• The historical record shows that virtually every other major White House project over the years has been carried out with approval and engagement by Congress. The Administration’s attempt to evade or usurp this authority should not be allowed to succeed.
• Despite the government’s recent assertions, the case is not about national security. It is simply about whether the President has complied with the law in his longstanding quest to construct a massive ballroom structure at the White House.
• The fact that private donors are supposedly paying for the project does not give the President any special authority to carry it out.
• The White House and its surrounding cultural landscape constitute a National Historic Landmark of highest significance to the nation, as well as a designated National Park. Not only has the Administration failed to secure basic congressional approval for this project, but it has also ignored planning and preservation standards and principles specifically established to ensure that changes to the White House and its grounds respect its cultural and historic values.
• Given the significant issues brought in this case, the balance of equities, and the likelihood that the National Trust will ultimately prevail on the merits, the Court of Appeals should reinstate the preliminary injunction and halt further construction of the ballroom project.

 The 11 organizations participating as amici curiae include the following:

• The American Institute of Architects
• The American Society of Landscape Architects
• The Association for Preservation Technology International
• The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
• The Committee of 100 on the Federal City
• The Cultural Landscape Foundation
• The DC Preservation League
• The National Mall Coalition
• The National Preservation Partners Network
• The Olmsted Network
• The Society of Architectural Historians