Hi there,

For three decades, people have counted on Democracy Now! to go to where the silence is and cover the people and movements closest to the most important stories of the day. All donations made today will be TRIPLED thanks to a group of generous donors, which means your $15 gift is worth $45. Please donate today to support our independent journalism. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Appeals Court Allows Trump to Resume Construction of $400 Million White House Ballroom

HeadlineApr 20, 2026

A federal appeals court is allowing President Trump to continue building his $400 million ballroom at the White House’s former East Wing, reversing a lower court’s order from the previous day that temporarily blocked the construction. Last fall, Trump tore down the East Wing to build the ballroom, prompting a lawsuit by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Trump has said the ballroom ​would be a “shed” for ​a “massive” military ⁠complex being built underneath. Meanwhile, the Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were hand-picked by President Trump, has approved plans to build a 250-foot tall “Triumphal Arch” in Washington, D.C. The gold-adorned structure would tower over the nearby Lincoln Memorial and would dwarf other federal monuments.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top