Trump’s White House ballroom project has reportedly been scrapped. We distributed real status

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The construction of US President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom has been stopped by a federal judge in mid-February 2026.

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As of this writing, a federal judge has yet to rule on the legal status of the construction project. In a post on social media, Trump declared that the project is moving ‘ahead of schedule’, while a White House spokesperson told us that the project is still in the ‘demolition phase’.

A social media rumor that surfaced around February 10, 2026, he claimed a federal judge had halted the construction project of the White House ballroom of US President Donald Trump.

Trump began the demolition of the East Wing of the White House in October 2025 to replace it with a 90,000 square foot ballroom. In December 2025the nonprofit National Trust for Historic Preservation sued the administration, arguing that the project began without the necessary approvals or congressional authority.

In mid-February 2026, several readers asked us to confirm whether a federal judge had stopped the construction of the ballroom. A 10 February Facebook declared location:

Trump’s infamous new White House ballroom and bunker have been scrapped by a federal judge and the national trust preservation committee. It was also discovered that $400 million in ballroom donor money either disappeared or simply never existed. 🤔

The image of the White House (below) shows the former site of the East Wing, built in 1902 and renovated in 1942, completely demolished with several bulldozers and skip loaders removing the last of the rubble.

GSA should now hire a construction company to fill the east wing (bad trump was demolished) with dirt and sod. The judge and the committee also decided that Trump “cannot so much as paint a wall in the white house without permission and approval of the committee”.

(Facebook user Alex W. Weis)

As of this writing, US District Judge Richard Leon, the judge overseeing the case, had not yet issued a decision on the status of the ballroom construction project. We reached out to the White House; a spokesperson told us that the ballroom was not yet under construction and the project was still in the “demolition stage.”

Therefore we classify the claim that a judge stopped the construction as false. We will update the story when the court issues a decision.

Photos above Getty Images showed construction cranes around the demolition area in late January 2026.

The National Trust argued that the project proceeded without receiving authorization from Congress and with inadequate environmental assessments.

On 17 December 2025, Leon rejected the National Trust’s motion for a temporary restraining order on the project and temporarily allowed work to continue. The judge’s order noted that because the ballroom plans had not been finalized, there was no “imminent risk of irreparable aesthetic damage.”

According to arguments presented by the Trump administration in January 2026, previous presidents did not require congressional approval to carry out construction or renovations on White House grounds. The government also said that construction on the land will not start before April 2026.

At the end of January 2026, Leon expressed skepticism that the administration had the legal authority to demolish the East Wing and proceed with construction. However, he said he would make a decision in the coming weeks, likely in February 2026on whether or not to allow a preliminary injunction, which stops the construction work for the duration of the case.

According to Bloomberg’s reportingLeon predicted that the matter will also be appealed before a federal appeals court and possibly the Supreme Court. According to court records seen on February 12, Leon had not issued such an injunction.

The White House did not specify how much money it raised and who the private donors were, instead directing us to Trump’s most recent statement. On February 10, 2026, Trump posted on TruthSocial that the construction project “is on budget, and ahead of schedule.” He also shared digital renderings of what the potential ballroom would look like.

On January 25, Trump posted that the project was privately financed and would cost $300 million to $400 million dollars:

I am building, on top of everything else I am doing, one of the largest and most beautiful Ballrooms anywhere in the World, with over 300 Million Dollars of Great American Patriots money, and working closely, from the very beginning, with the United States Military and Secret Service. This is a GIFT (ZERO taxpayer funding!) to the United States of America, of 300 to 400 Million Dollars (depending on scope and quality of interior finishes!), for a space that is desperately needed. […]

In November 2025, the White House released list of donors to the ballroom project, which included charities, sports team owners, technology companies, media companies and billionaires. The Associated Press reported an additional corporation as well as an artificial intelligence chipmaker that also donated to the project. The administration did not disclose how much each donor contributed.

Snopes has it covered many claims on the demolition of the East Wing and Trump’s plans for a White House ballroom.

Sources:

“A Crane Used in the Ballroom Construction Hovers above The White…” Getty Images, 10 Feb. 2026, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/crane-used-in-the-ballroom-construction-hovers-above-the-news-photo/2260298495. Accessed 12 February 2026.

“Cranes and a Temporary Visitor Entrance Is Seen on the North Side Of…” Getty Images, 28 Jan. 2026, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cranes-and-a-temporary-visitor-entrance-is-seen-on-the-news-photo/2257847734. Accessed 12 February 2026.

Esposito, Joey. “15 Claims We Investigated About the White House East Wing Demolition.” Snopes, 26 Nov. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//collections/white-house-demolition-collection/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

Judge asks Trump Authority to build White House Ballroom. 23 Jan. 2026, https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/judge-questions-trump-authority-to-build-white-house-ballroom. Accessed 12 February 2026.

“NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES v. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, 1:25-Cv-04316 – CourtListener.Com.” CourtListener, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States v. National Park Service 1:25-Cv-04316 (DDC) | Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse. https://clearinghouse.net/case/47494/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

Rascouët-Paz, Anna. “Trump demolished entire White House East Wing?” Snopes, 23 Oct. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-east-wing-white-house/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

Scarcella, Mike. “White House Faces Skeptical Judge in Trump Ballroom Lawsuit.” Reuters, 23 January 2026. Litigation. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-judge-weighs-bid-halt-trumps-white-house-ballroom-2026-01-22/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

“Supplemental Memorandum – #30 in NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES v. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (DDC, 1:25-Cv-04316) – CourtListener.Com.” CourtListener, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/30/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/. Accessed 12 February 2026.

“These Are the 37 Donors Helping Pay for Trump’s $300 Million White House Ballroom.” AP News, 12 Nov. 2025, https://apnews.com/article/donors-to-trump-white-house-ballroom-d4dd174eeb30ac244354a5a25551a86b. Accessed 12 February 2026.