The ballroom construction site is where the East Wing of the White House once stood. A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of its $400-million ballroom at the White House because the project lacks congressional approval. Attorneys for the preservation group countered that the lack of a White House ballroom doesn’t constitute a national security emergency. In response, the appeals court instructed the judge to reconsider the national security implications of stopping construction. Advertisement“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated,” the judge wrote.