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Standing

Divided D.C. Circuit Panel Upholds Injunction Against White House Ballroom Construction; Next Stop, One First Street

Judge Rao writes a powerful dissent that is likely to find a receptive audience at One First Street.

Jonathan H. Adler | 8.7.2026 1:23 PM

This morning, declaring that "the White House is the People's House," a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the district court injunction against the construction of the new White House ballroom. According  to the court, "Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help."

The 100-page majority opinion in National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service was written jointly by Judges Millett and Garcia. Judge Rao dissented.

The panel stayed its decision for fourteen days for the express purpose of allowing the Trump Administration to seek review from the Supreme Court, and I would expect such a filing in due course.

If the Supreme Court does intervene, either on the interim docket or after argument, this case might present a good opportunity for the justices to revisit--and perhaps restrain--the permissive approach to standing in cases against the federal government, particularly those relying upon aesthetic standing. As Judge Rao explains in her dissent, there are serious questions about NTHP's standing here, both as an organization and as a representative of members who claim "injury" from the ballroom's construction.

On the first point, it is not clear NTHP can claim standing on its own behalf given its limited charter:

The fundamental problem for the Trust's standing is that this lawsuit is not germane to its purposes because Congress did not provide the Trust with any statutory authority or interest pertinent to the White House. . . .

The Trust . . . is not a private association. It is a congressionally chartered nonprofit corporation........

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