New White House ballroom renderings reveal gilded hall, droneport

The White House ballroom battle entered a new phase today. After a federal appeals court ruled last week that construction on the 90,000 sq ft expansion must stop, President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to allow the project to move ahead.

'This case involves an extraordinary and unlawful injunction that will halt the ongoing construction of the integrated military complex, including a totally secure ballroom space, at the East Wing of the White House, which is vitally required by national security,' US Solicitor General John Sauer argued in a filing with the high court.

The ballroom project has been a lightening rod for controversy since President Trump unveiled the concept a year ago, for both its design and its $400 million price tag, to be funded by private donations.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit that seeks to protect historically-significant sites across the US, brought suit against the plans in December 2025, arguing that the project required approval from Congress to move forward. Following months of legal back-and-forth, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit moved to block work on the project, upholding an earlier decision by a lower court.

‘Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House and its Executive Residence,’ the court wrote. ‘The President has no – and claims no – constitutionally assigned authority over that property, which is designed and maintained for the use of all Presidents, current and future, and for the American people.’

The Trump administration's petition with the Supreme Court, however – the nation's highest court – marks a significant escalation in the ongoing skirmish. The National Trust has until noon on 18 August to respond.

'Each court reviewing this case has ruled that construction of the Ballroom is unlawful,' the National Trust said in a statement. 'Each court has seriously and carefully considered the Administration’s asserted national security concerns. And each court has ruled that while underground bunker construction can continue, Ballroom construction must stop.'

The Trump administration, however, says it may be too late to halt the project. The Supreme Court filing noted that the building's superstructure is 65 percent complete, 'with millions of pounds of steel procured, tens of thousands of cubic yards of concrete poured and miles of conduit laid...Given those developments, the injunction promises chaos in service of nothing.'

Construction photos included in the filing show the extent of the work, which includes towering concrete shear walls. New renderings also depict what the complex will ultimately look like. The Neoclassical structure is designed by local firm Shalom Baranes Associates and will include a ballroom with gilded ornamental ceilings; a colonnaded exterior with 'magnificent Corinthian columns'; and decorative gold presidential seals on the facade.

The filing also touted the design's security features, which will include a droneport, a bunker five-storeys deep; and materials that are 'missile-resistant,' 'droneproof' and 'bullet, ballistic and blast-proof.'