DOJ asks court to unblock White House ballroom construction over ‘grave national-security harms’

The Trump administration is urging a federal appeals court to allow construction of the White House ballroom to continue on grounds of national security, underscoring the implications if the addition is halted by a lower court’s ruling.

The Justice Department filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit late Friday, asking for the federal appeals court to halt a lower court’s order pausing construction on the new East Wing of the White House, where the proposed ballroom is set to be built. The DOJ asked the appeals court to act by Friday, ahead of when the district court order would go into effect April 14, arguing that President Donald Trump has the authority to make changes to the White House without congressional approval. The DOJ’s filing also highlighted the “grave national-security harms” that pausing construction would have.

The filing discussed the security concerns for the president