Trump’s White House ballroom project was allegedly scrapped. We broke down real status

A social media rumor that emerged around Feb. 10, 2026, claimed a federal judge had halted U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction project. 

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

In mid-February 2026, numerous readers asked us to confirm whether a federal judge had halted construction on the ballroom. A Feb. 10 Facebook post stated:

Trump’s infamous new White House ballroom and bunker has been scrapped by a federal judge and the national trust preservation committee. It was also discovered the $400 million in ballroom donor money has 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 clearing the last of the rubble.

GSA has to now hire a construction company to fill the east wing (trump improperly had demolished) with dirt and sod. The Judge and committee have also ruled trump “cannot as much as paint a wall in the white house without a permit and committee approval”. 

(Facebook user Alex W. Weis)

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

We therefore rate the claim that a judge has halted the construction as false. We will update the story when the court releases a decision.

Photographs on 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 Dec. 17, 2025, Leon denied 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 harm.” 

According to arguments filed 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 above-ground construction would not begin until April 2026.

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

According to Bloomberg’s reporting, Leon predicted the issue would also be appealed to a federal appeals court and possibly the Supreme Court. According to court records viewed on Feb. 12, Leon had not issued such an injunction. 

The White House didn’t specify how much money it had raised and who the private donors were, directing us to Trump’s most recent statement instead. On Feb. 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 Jan. 25, Trump posted that the project was privately funded and would cost $300 million to $400 million dollars: 

I’m building, on top of everything else that I am doing, one of the greatest and most beautiful Ballrooms anywhere in the World, with more than 300 Million Dollars of Great American Patriots’ money, and working closely with, right from the beginning, 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 the scope and quality of interior finishes!), for a desperately needed space […]

In November 2025, the White House released a list of donors for the ballroom project, which included charitable organizations, sports team owners, tech 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 reveal how much each donor contributed. 

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

Sources