U.S. President Donald Trump disembarks Marine One, after travel to Milford, Michigan, at the Ellipse near the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Critics were mocking President Donald Trump's appeals court loss for his White House ballroom project on Friday.
A three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit agreed 2-1 with a federal judge's ruling from April requiring construction to halt until Congress expressly authorizes the project, which they referred to as "utterly lawless."
Political commentators and legal experts reacted to the news on social media.
"'Aha-ha-ha ha. You're gonna need congressional approval and you don't have the votes,'" Trump critic and attorney George Conway wrote on X.
"I doubt this decision will last long. SCOTUS reversal on standing grounds seems likely," William & Mary Law School professor Jonathan H. Adler wrote on X.
"We've found the one thing that can beat Trump, the HOA," wrote X account zedsamcat, a political commentator.
"Trump now needs either Congress to authorize construction or the Supreme Court to say the law doesn't mean what it says," HuffPost reporter Arthur Delaney wrote on X.
"Rao dissented. The Supreme Court will stay this injunction," Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at The Article III Project, wrote on X.
"BOOP!!!" Progressive X account Badd Company wrote.