US President Donald Trump holds an image of a rendering of the new White House ballroom in October 2025. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)

The Trump administration has been ordered to stop construction on a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished East Wing.

The federal appeals court says it is a matter for Congress to decide and that each president is only a temporary tenant.

With 14 days to allow for an appeal, Mr Trump says the decision must be overturned by the Supreme Court.

A  federal appeals court has ordered Donald Trump's administration to stop construction on a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House's demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority.

"Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House," and could not fundamentally reshape it without congressional approval, the Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in a 2-1 opinion on Friday, local time.

Project by project, Donald Trump is altering the United States capital.

The order upheld a preliminary injunction won by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which sued last year after the administration tore down the East Wing and began building an 8,360-square-metre ballroom without seeking authorisation from Congress.

"Whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for executive self-help," the panel's majority wrote.

The appeals court placed its ruling on hold for 14 days to allow the Trump administration to appeal to the US Supreme Court.