The leading preservationist group fighting President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom construction project announced a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign Wednesday to use for legal defense.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s $10 million fund, dubbed the “Historic Preservation Defense Fund,” will boost the group’s “legal defense, public advocacy, and community action whenever historic places and the laws that protect them are under threat,” the group said in a statement.
“This is an urgent, pivotal moment for historic preservation. Our nation’s iconic, historic buildings and places, and with them the foundational stories of our country, are now under a generational threat,” National Trust President and CEO Brent Leggs said Wednesday at an event.
He said the funds will be used to provide “investment and support for a united preservation movement” to counter what the organization called “current and emerging threats.”
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The National Trust sued the Trump administration in December 2025 to halt the construction of the White House ballroom, which the president has argued is needed to safely host large-scale events. The ballroom is one of many projects Trump has undertaken to beautify D.C. through his gilded aesthetics.
The National Trust argued in court filings that the ballroom was an unlawful project that skipped over a federal review process and congressional approval.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts ruled to stop construction. The Supreme Court issued an unsigned opinion in August that allowed the project to continue, saying the federal government is likely to prevail in showing the National Trust did not have the legal right to challenge the ballroom’s construction. The opinion also added that if construction were stopped, national security would be harmed.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a dissent, joined by the three liberal justices, that said the construction “is likely unlawful.” Trump celebrated the victory on Truth Social at the time and said the facility will be unveiled in the summer of 2028.
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