How Trump’s $400 million ballroom plans came to a halt

Summary

Podcast Summary: How Trump’s $400 million Ballroom Plans Came to a Halt

Podcast: Apple News Today
Host: Cecilia Ley
Date: April 1, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into three major stories shaping national and international headlines:

• The Supreme Court’s pivotal hearing on Trump’s executive order to end automatic birthright citizenship
• Deepening divides and shifting alliances around the continued war in the Middle East
• The legal and political drama around President Trump’s halted $400 million White House ballroom renovation

Cecilia Ley hosts reporters and offers direct quotes from policymakers, providing both expert analysis and on-the-ground detail.

---

Supreme Court Takes Up Birthright Citizenship

[00:05 – 04:33]

The Issue

• The Supreme Court begins oral arguments on President Trump’s controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, challenging the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

Legal Fate So Far

• James Ramoser (Wall Street Journal Reporter):
  • “Trump says that century plus of consensus over what the 40th Amendment means is actually wrong and that the amendment was never intended to grant citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.” [01:16]
  • Lower courts have unanimously struck down Trump’s executive order, with judges using strong language such as “blatantly unconstitutional” and “patently illegal.”
    • “One judge said it was the easiest case that he’s ever heard in his 40 years on the bench because the legal arguments supporting the executive order were so frivolous.” [01:40]

Tensions Between Trump and the Supreme Court

• James Ramoser: Noted deteriorating relations, especially following the Court’s February ruling against Trump’s global terrorist policy.
• Donald Trump: Publicly criticized his own appointees, Justices Gorsuch and Barrett, at a fundraising dinner:
  • “...two of the people that voted for that I appointed, and they sicken me. They sicken me because they’re bad for our country.” [02:23]

Courtroom Concerns and Complexities

• Some conservative justices, including Kavanaugh and Thomas, have shown caution or broad interpretations favoring current practices.
  • James Ramoser: “Even someone like Clarence Thomas may be skeptical of Trump’s attempt to narrow what citizenship means in the 14th Amendment.” [03:56]
• If the order prevails, it would only apply to future births. A ruling is expected by July.

---

Middle East War: International Fractures and Gulf States’ Shift

[04:34 – 08:45]

Changing Alliances and Pressures

• European nations push for a swift end to the conflict due to energy dependency, while key Gulf countries urge the US to continue military operations against Iran.
• Amer Madhani (AP White House Reporter):
  • “They’re telling President Trump, you gotta continue because Iran hasn’t been weakened enough. And leaving them in this current state would not be good for the Gulf and will not be good for the global economy.” [05:45]

Gulf States’ Private to Public Shift

• Initially, frustration with the US; now, nations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain are outspoken against ending operations.
  • “The UAE has hit the hardest of any of the Gulf countries. They’ve had, I think, more than 2,300 missile and drone strikes since the start of the war.” [06:17]
• Trump’s overt praise for Gulf leaders:
  • “I want to thank my friend, the Crown Prince Mohammed, who is a fantastic man ... a warrior. He was not afraid of this country that, frankly, he should have been afraid of because they’re very powerful.” [07:05]

What’s Next?

• Possible escalation if Iran strikes Gulf infrastructure.
• Trump’s new deadline for negotiations with Iran: April 6. He predicts the war could continue for 2-3 more weeks.

---

The $400 Million White House Ballroom: Plans on Hold

[08:46 – 12:28]

Project Details and Legal Ruling

• Trump’s extravagant 90,000 sq. ft. White House ballroom—a $400 million architectural project—has been halted by federal court order.
  • Donald Trump: “It’ll be spectacular, be the most beautiful ballroom ... going to be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world.” [08:46]
• Dan Dimon (Washington Post White House Reporter):
  • The court found no legal authority for the use of maintenance funds, donation routing, or national security justifications for the project.
    • “He has said that there is no existing law that he can find that justifies Trump’s decision to build a $400 million ballroom by drawing on private.” [09:04]
    • “That’s just for small changes like fixing the light bulbs, not for building a giant ballroom.” [09:25]

The National Trust for Historic Preservation Steps In

• Lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
• Trump responded by attacking the group as “radical left lunatics” disgruntled at his other renovation projects. [10:43]

Public Reaction and Scrutiny

• The project’s architecture came under fire for design flaws, lack of oversight, and political cronyism in the approval process.
  • “A portico that’s too large, stairs that go nowhere, and large columns that block views from the inside out.” [11:08]
• Historic preservation and “people’s house” sentiment fuel passionate public opposition.
  • “There’s also a sense that the White House is everyone’s property. It’s known as the people’s House. And the judge said, President Trump isn’t the owner of this building. He’s just the steward for future generations.” [11:53]

Next Steps

• Trump expected to appeal, possibly to the Supreme Court.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “One judge said it was the easiest case that he’s ever heard in his 40 years on the bench because the legal arguments supporting the executive order were so frivolous.” – James Ramoser [01:40]
• “Two of the people that voted for that I appointed, and they sicken me. They sicken me because they’re bad for our country.” – Donald Trump [02:23]
• “They’re telling President Trump, you gotta continue because Iran hasn’t been weakened enough.” – Amer Madhani [05:45]
• “I want to thank my friend, the Crown Prince Mohammed, who is a fantastic man … a warrior.” – Donald Trump [07:05]
• “He has said that there is no existing law ... to build a $400 million ballroom by drawing on private.” – Dan Dimon [09:04]
• “The White House is everyone’s property. ... President Trump isn’t the owner ... just the steward for future generations.” – Dan Dimon [11:53]

---

Key Timestamps

• 00:05–04:33 — Supreme Court, birthright citizenship arguments
• 04:34–08:45 — Middle East war, alliances and pressure on Trump
• 08:46–12:28 — The halted $400 million White House ballroom

---

Episode Tone and Style

The reporting is clear, brisk, and fact-driven, with direct quotes, legal and political analysis, and a steady, informed tone. Trump’s statements are given in his own emphatic style; the expert guests lend legal and strategic perspectives.

---

Summary Takeaways

• Trump’s executive action on birthright citizenship faces major legal hurdles and skepticism, even from some conservatives.
• As the war in the Middle East drags on, the US balances European fatigue and Gulf pressure to fight on.
• Trump’s personal White House renovation faces intense legal, political, and public opposition, putting the $400 million ballroom in limbo—with the drama likely to continue in appeals.

This episode delivers essential context and quotes for listeners wanting to understand the intersection of law, international relations, and high-profile controversy in the US presidency.

Transcript

[Cecilia Ley]

Good morning. It's one of the most consequential cases of Trump's second term. Today, birthright citizenship heads to the Supreme Court.

[James Ramoser]

Trump has essentially gotten crushed in the lower courts so far, but he's hoping that the Supreme Court will take a different view.

[Cecilia Ley]

Europe is hoping for a quick end to the war, but the Associated Press explains why countries in the Gulf are pushing the US to fight on and why a judge put a stop to the White House ballroom. It's Wednesday, April 1st. Hi, I'm Cecilia Ley, and this is Apple News.

[James Ramoser]

Today,

[Cecilia Ley]

for more than 150 years, people born in the United States have been largely considered citizens, no matter the legal status of their parents. Today, the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments that could decide whether that principle, enshrined by the 14th Amendment, will remain. The case is testing an executive order that President Trump signed on the first day of his second term. It aimed to end automatic birthright citizenship and instead limit it to people with at least one parent who is a citizen or legal permanent resident. James Ramoser is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal covering the Supreme Court and explained the case.

[James Ramoser]

Trump says that century plus of consensus over what the 40th Amendment means is actually wrong and that the amendment was never intended to grant citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.

[Cecilia Ley]

While Trump's executive order was signed a while ago, it hasn't gone into effect. Ramoser says that's because, in large part, it's been seen as legally dubious.

[James Ramoser]

At least six different courts have taken up litigation regarding Trump's executive order, and all six have ruled against it in some form. Several of the judges have called the order blatantly unconstitutional, patently illegal. One judge said it was the easiest case that he's ever heard in his 40 years on the bench because the legal arguments supporting the executive order were so frivolous.

[Cecilia Ley]

Ramoser says the case is being heard when relations between the court and Trump have never been worse, especially after the justices ruled that his global terrorist policy was illegal in February. Last week, Trump specifically criticized Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett in the National Republican Congressional committee dinner in D.C.

[Donald Trump]

and the Supreme Court, that's right, of the United States cost our country all they needed was a sentence our country hundreds of billions of dollars, and they couldn't care less. They couldn't care less. And not that it matters, doesn't matter at all. But two of the people that voted for that I appointed, and they sicken me. They sicken me because they're bad for our country.

[James Ramoser]

He's attacked them. He's denigrated their patriotism. He said they're subject to foreign influence. And he even predicted at one point that the court likely would rule or find a way to rule against his birthright citizenship order.

[Cecilia Ley]

Ramoser notes that there have been a few instances where the court's conservatives have seemed to question the administration's argument. For example, in an early version of the case last year, Justice Brett Kavanaugh aired some concerns about how Trump's executive order would function in practice during a line of questioning to the DOJ's lawyer.

[James Ramoser]

What do hospitals do with a newborn? What do states do with a newborn?

[Cecilia Ley]

I don't think they do anything different. What the executive says in Section two is that federal officials do not accept documents that have the wrong designation of citizenship from people who are subject to the executive order.

[James Ramoser]

How are they going to know that

[Cecilia Ley]

the states can continue to. The federal officials will have to figure that out.

[James Ramoser]

How?

[Cecilia Ley]

So you can imagine a number of in another case, Justice Clarence Thomas adopted a broad interpretation of the citizenship clause as it related to benefits for Puerto Rican residents.

[James Ramoser]

Now, to be sure, that case was not about birthright citizenship per se, but some people say that Thomas would have been aware that this argument about birthright citizenship was coming up, was waiting in the wings, in a sense, because some conservatives were already making the argument. And so Thomas would have been aware that his broad conception of citizenship that he outlined in that 2022 case would have had implications for this debate. And so even someone like Clarence Thomas may be skeptical of Trump's attempt to narrow what citizenship means in the 14th Amendment.

[Cecilia Ley]

Ramoser says if the executive order does take effect, it would not be retroactive and only apply to children born after the effective date of the order. A ruling of the case is expected in June or July. The war in the Middle east continues to strain relations between the US and its traditional allies. NATO countries have resisted joining in any military action, and some countries, including France, Spain and Italy, have even blocked the use of their airspace and bases. Yesterday, President Trump aired his frustrations, telling countries they should, quote, go get your own oil. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is causing severe economic pain in some parts of the world. But its future, he said yesterday, was not America's problem.

[Donald Trump]

They'll be able to fend for themselves. I think it'll be very safe, actually. But we have nothing to do with that. What happens to the Strait, we're not going to have anything to do with

[Cecilia Ley]

Unlike the us, Europe consumes more energy than it produces domestically, which means they want this war to be over as quickly as possible. But closer to the conflict zone, a different message seems to be emerging from some Gulf countries.

[Amer Madhani]

They're telling President Trump, you gotta continue because Iran hasn't been weakened enough. And leaving them in this current state would not be good for the Gulf and will not be good for the global economy.

[Cecilia Ley]

Amer Madhani is a White House reporter for the Associated Press, and he told us that this is a complete change. Initially, countries in the Gulf region were privately upset about the lack of notice when the war started, and some felt their concerns were being ignored. But now many see an opportunity to change the power dynamics in Iran.

[Amer Madhani]

Four that I would say that are pushing Trump strongly are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. Even among that group of four, that's telling Trump, you gotta continue going. The strongest push seems to be coming from the uae, followed by Saudi Arabia. The UAE has hit the hardest of any of the Gulf countries. They've had, I think, more than 2,300 missile and drone strikes since the start of the war.

[Cecilia Ley]

There's been economic pain, too. Dubai recently announced a stimulus bill as UAE stock markets have lost more than $100 billion from the. As these conversations happen privately, Trump is also publicly making sure they know he is appreciative, lavishing praise on Saudi Arabia and others last Friday.

[Donald Trump]

I want to thank my friend, the Crown Prince Mohammed, who is a fantastic man and a great friend of mine and a friend of all of yours, I think. And he's a warrior. He's a warrior. He was not afraid of this country that, frankly, he should have been afraid of because they're very powerful.

[Cecilia Ley]

So far, these countries haven't joined any offensive operations, but Madhani says it's possible Iran may force their hand.

[Amer Madhani]

What if Iran follows through on a threat and hits desalination plans? Hits. And they already have in pretty significant ways. But even more so if they hit hard, energy resources and energy infrastructure of these neighboring Gulf countries. Can the Saudis just sit by? Can the UAE just sit by and not get into the war?

[Cecilia Ley]

Politically, countries like Saudi Arabia would also find themselves in a difficult spot as only two countries in the Gulf region, the UAE and Bahrain, have formal diplomatic relations with Israel. For now, Trump has extended his deadline to April 6 for negotiations with Iran before potentially attacking their vital infrastructure. And yesterday he said the war could go on for another two to three weeks. You've probably heard about the White House architectural renovation that's close to Trump's heart. A 90,000 square foot, $400 million project.

[Donald Trump]

It'll be spectacular, be the most beautiful ballroom. I believe it's because I built many a ballroom. I believe it's going to be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world. And when you hear all that.

[Cecilia Ley]

But those plans have been halted, at least for now. Yesterday, a federal judge ruled that construction can't continue without congressional approval.

[Dan Dimon]

He has said that there is no existing law that he can find that justifies Trump's decision to build a $400 million ballroom by drawing on private.

[Cecilia Ley]

Dan Dimon is a White House reporter for the Washington Post and has been breaking news on this development since it was announced. He told us the judge appeared unconvinced by any of Trump's justifications.

[Dan Dimon]

The White House has made several arguments. They've said that there is a fund that Congress has set aside for maintenance and alterations on the White House grounds. Judge Leon threw out that argument. He said that's just for small changes like fixing the light bulbs, not for building a giant ballroom. The White House has also argued that there is a way for the administration to take these donations through, essentially the National Park Service. The judge says it doesn't make sense to take money in through this agency for this other project, so that didn't fly either.

[Cecilia Ley]

And claims that the construction was necessary for national security reasons also didn't pass the SNF test. Diamond told us that argument lacked enough detail.

[Dan Dimon]

They haven't said this publicly exactly why, but we know that there has been an emergency bunker underneath the East Wing for decades and that the military has worked on some overhauls. The judge also didn't accept that argument. He said it's not his responsibility, essentially, that the president decided to tear down the East Wing. And that's not enough to argue for a national security reason.

[Cecilia Ley]

The lawsuit to stop the ballroom was filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit that works to save historic sites in the US within minutes of Tuesday's ruling, Dimon reported Trump attacked the group, calling them radical left lunatics for their repeated lawsuits.

[Dan Dimon]

His argument is they're suing me on the ballroom. They're suing me on the Kennedy center, another major renovation project by the president. But they're not suing me on the Federal Reserve, this other project that President Trump has personally opposed. So he was trying to call out, I think, the inconsistency that he saw between the National Trust lawsuit. But I also think this is just the beginning for President Trump's reaction. We know how much he cares about this ballroom. He brings it up constantly.

[Cecilia Ley]

Trump's ballroom plans have drawn a lot of public interest. The New York Times recently released a detailed critique of the project's architecture, noting, among other flaws, a portico that's too large, stairs that go nowhere, and large columns that block views from the inside out. The Times suggested there had been little scrutiny of the project by the Commission of Fine Arts, whose board is filled with Trump supporters. Another panel, the National Capital Planning Commission, which is also staffed by allies, is voting on final approval Thursday. Polling suggests the majority of the public are opposed, and many of them are very vocal about it. The commission said it received tens of thousands of public comments. Almost all of them were critical of the ballroom.

[Dan Dimon]

My colleague Jonathan Edwards and I first broke the news of the East Wing demolition in October, and we have been struck repeatedly by how passionately the average American voter feels about this at times compared to other issues. And I think part of that is because of the symbolic nature. President Trump has described himself at times as kind of a bulldozer going through the federal government. Here. He literally bulldozed part of the White House. There's also a sense that the White House is everyone's property. It's known as the people's House. And the judge said, President Trump isn't the owner of this building. He's just the steward for future generations.

[Cecilia Ley]

Trump is expected to appeal, potentially all the way to the Supreme Court. And here's a few other stories we're following. The Supreme Court ruled against a ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors, concluding that it violated the free speech rights of a conservative Christian therapist. Colorado's Kaylee Childs argued that she wanted to help religious teens who struggle with sexual orientation and gender dysphoria live a life consistent with their faith. In the 8 to 1 decision, the court embraced the argument that the ban in her state censors First Amendment speech rights. The Colorado attorney general who defended the law in court said the ruling was, quote, a setback for Colorado's efforts to protect children and families from harmful and discredited mental health practices. It will likely have national implications. More than 20 states have similar laws. Tiger woods says he's stepping away from golf for a period of time and seeking treatment after being charged with driving under the influence. Woods crashed his car in Florida on Friday, clipping a truck and rolling over. A police report said that woods had two opioid pills in his pocket used to treat severe pain, and that officers observed him acting lethargic and slow with extremely dilated pupils. Before the crash, woods hadn't ruled out competing in next month's Masters competition, but any return could now be on hold. Woods says he needs to prioritize his well being. He submitted a not guilty plea to the charges. Finally, what do you think Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was up to during the seventh week of the partial government shutdown? TMZ's got the answer. He was in Orlando's Disney World riding Space Mountain and carrying a bubble wand. The celebrity tabloid news outlet has recently turned its signature paparazzi prowess onto members of the US Congress, shaming lawmakers as they leave town during recess. Last week, TMZ put out a call for tips on lawmaker sightings, and the public responded. Republican Senator Ted Cruz was also spotted at Fort Lauderdale, but TMZ wasn't taking sides. Among other sightings was Democrat Representative Robert Garcia at a Las Vegas casino. TMZ founder and executive producer Harvey Levin said the outlet has been building up a presence on Capitol Hill and wanted to use their platform to show how, quote, Congress, Dems and Republicans have betrayed us. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New York Magazine explores what being ultra rich can do to a person's brain and whether it alters the perception of things like friendships, obligation, and even reality itself. If you're listening in the podcast app, follow Apple News Narrated to find that story and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.