OAN Staff Sophia Flores
2:18 PM – Monday, January 26, 2026
President Donald Trump recently defended his plan to construct a new White House ballroom after the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) filed a lawsuit challenging the project.
The NTHP describes itself as a “privately funded nonprofit organization” that aims “to save America’s historic sites; tell the full American story; build stronger communities; and invest in preservation’s future.”
On Sunday, Trump addressed the issue in a lengthy post on Truth Social, expressing that it is simply “too late” to halt construction of the lavish $300 million presidential ballroom, which he labeled as “a GIFT (ZERO taxpayer funding) to the United States of America.”
“All of the Structural Steel, Windows, Doors, A.C./Heating Equipment, Marble, Stone, Precast Concrete, Bulletproof Windows and Glass, Anti-Drone Roofing, and much more, has been ordered (or is ready to be), and there is no practical or reasonable way to go back. IT IS TOO LATE!” the president added.
President Trump also questioned why the NTHP chose to challenge the ambitious — and “much-needed” — addition only after the project was already underway.
“As usual, I got sued, this time by the Radical Left National (No!)Trust for Historic Preservation, a group that couldn’t care less about our Country!” Trump wrote.
“Why didn’t these obstructionists and troublemakers bring their baseless lawsuit much earlier?” he questioned. “Congress never tried, or wanted, to stop the Ballroom Project! Everyone knew what was taking place at the White House — A great, big, beautiful gift to the United States of America!”
The organization filed a lawsuit in December alleging that the Trump administration bypassed Congress and failed to follow required federal review processes in the demolition of the White House’s East Wing.
However, U.S. presidents do not automatically need Congress’s approval for renovations, construction, or demolition work at the White House. Congressional approval is usually required only if new appropriated federal funds are needed, or Congress has specifically restricted or conditioned alterations through statute. Since the project used no taxpayer funds, according to Trump, that weakens the argument that Congress had to approve it on funding grounds.
Nonetheless, the administration may still be required to follow the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). These laws don’t require Congress’s approval, but they do require consultation and review.
Trump’s post comes a week after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon questioned the legal basis for the project during a federal court hearing. Leon said he expects to rule on the case in February and believes that the losing side will file an appeal.
In July, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt first announced the construction of the brand new 90,000-square-foot ballroom at the White House.
“The White House state ballroom will be a much needed and exquisite addition of 90,000 square feet,” Leavitt said, adding that it would have a seated capacity of 650 people and would eliminate the need for a “large and unsightly tent” to host state dinners and other large events.
Trump later emphasized that the ballroom is “a desperately needed space, sought for over 150 years by previous Presidents and Administrations, so that the White House would no longer be forced to use a cheap and unsafe ‘tent,’ for big and important STATE EVENTS, Dinners, Meetings, Conferences, and already scheduled future INAUGURATIONS (for safety, security, and capacity purposes!), on a very wet, and subject to weather, White House lawn.”
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